Giants co-owner in dark on JPP: 'I don't know how many fingers he has'

A month ago, I never, ever thought I'd be writing that headline about an NFL player.

The Jason Pierre-Paul story with the New York Giants is terrible and weird. Pierre-Paul injured himself in a July 4 fireworks accident. ESPN said Pierre-Paul had his right index finger amputated, which was reportedly the first time the Giants heard about it. Pierre-Paul would not let the Giants see him in the hospital.

None of this is sitting well with Giants co-owner John Mara, who sounded off Thursday as the Giants reported to training camp without Pierre-Paul.

"We don't know how extensive the damage is right now," Mara said, according to NJ.com. "That is the problem.

"I don't know how many fingers he has. We know what we've read and what we've been told, but until we actually see him and the extent of the damage, it's hard to make any sort of prediction as to what kind of condition he's in."

Pierre-Paul is in an unusual position. He's not technically under contract with the Giants. The Giants gave him the one-year franchise tag and Pierre-Paul didn't sign it, hoping for a long-term deal. That obviously didn't happen after the fireworks incident. The franchise tag is still on the table (if the Giants pulled it, Pierre-Paul would become a free agent), waiting for Pierre-Paul to sign it.

Mara said he thinks Pierre-Paul is getting bad advice, and it's "sad." He said the Giants have to assume he won't be with them all season, because the team hasn't heard from Pierre-Paul and has no idea when he's coming or what his injuries are almost four weeks after the accident. The Giants have only heard about Pierre-Paul's injuries through his agent, and Mara said he doesn't believe him.