A week after re-joining the New York Giants and signing an adjusted contract, Jason Pierre-Paul could make his season debut this Sunday against Tampa Bay.
The defensive end, who did significant damage to his right hand in a July 4 fireworks accident, returned to practice on Wednesday, and is expected to practice on Thursday as well, according to coach Tom Coughlin. Pierre-Paul got reps with the defense and scout team.
After practice, Pierre-Paul told reporters, "I'm going to play on Sunday...maybe." He added that the hand no longer hurts and that he believes he's still the same player he was before his accident.
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JPP: "I've been able grab and she'd tackles. My skill set, I haven't lost it."
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Though he hasn't played a game in over 10 months, since the Giants' regular-season finale, Coughlin seems impressed with how fit Pierre-Paul is.
“He’s in outstanding physical condition, we knew that,” Coughlin said. “We tried that right away. We had him in pads on Saturday morning, we had him in pads on Monday, so we’re feeling good about accelerating him along. There’s nothing unusual about it when a guy who is in his position is in the condition that he’s in and prepares himself to play. That’s what he’s done.”
Though the Giants are last in the leauge in sacks with nine (Pierre-Paul had 12.5 last year) and are coming off a game in which they gave up 52 points to New Orleans, Coughlin said those are not influencing Pierre-Paul's timetable.
"It has to do with him and whether he's ready or not. If he's ready, we'll play him. If he's not ready, we'll take more time," Coughlin said. "We're feeling good about accelerating him along. There's nothing unusual about it when a guy in his position prepares himself to play."
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