The New York Giants have not had success reaching defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul since he lost his right index finger in a July 4 fireworks accident. But former Giant Justin Tuck, who is now with the Oakland Raiders but remains close with Pierre-Paul, told reporters at a charity event in Newark, New Jersey, on Monday that he has talked to Pierre-Paul and that the latter is in good spirits.
"He is," Tuck told NJ.com's Jordan Raanan. "He'll be the first one to tell you he made a mistake. He's fine. He's going to have a great year."
The Giants are eager to talk to Pierre-Paul about what he and they can expect in terms of his recovery. Giants players report to training camp July 30, and as the team makes plans for its season, questions about how much time Pierre-Paul needs to recover from the various surgeries he had on his right hand remain at the forefront.
Pierre-Paul had the finger amputated July 8, and he also had surgery at that time to repair fractures in his right thumb. His recovery time was estimated at six weeks, but the Giants still don't know what that means. Will he be able to lift weights and train in any way during that time? How soon after that will he be able to get on the practice field? How long will he need, after skipping all of spring practice because of his contract dispute, to get up to speed in new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's defense?
There's also a financial discussion to be had. Pierre-Paul still has not signed the $14.813 million franchise tender the Giants submitted in March, and he is not planning to sign it until he is sure he can pass a physical or that the Giants won't use the non-football-injury list as a reason to not pay him for any games he has to miss. That's part of what Pierre-Paul and the Giants have to talk about whenever they can finally get together.
In the meantime, Tuck said Pierre-Paul is expecting to be able to play -- and play well -- at some point.
"I think he will be [successful]," Tuck said. "Once he gets used to playing again, you can't deny his athletic ability. He's a terror to block.
"Hopefully everything else gets healthy around him, and if that is the case, I don't see any reason why he wouldn't be the JPP of the second half of the season like he was last year."