Jason Pierre-Paul Could Be Out A Month, Won’t Sign Franchise Tag Any Time Soon

Ian Rapoport and Aditi Kinkhabwala are reporting that Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul will not be signing his $14.8 million franchise tender today or any time soon.

• According to the report, Pierre-Paul’s hand isn’t quite ready and he could be out more than a month.
• Rapoport adds that the Giants haven’t rescinded his franchise tag or anything, and he still plans to sign it when he’s healthy.
• Pierre-Paul is expected to receive a prorated portion of $14.8 million salary. But for now he’s heading home, according to Rapoport.

There was some talk that contract talks between the two parties could begin today, but sounds like this situation may take some time before it’s resolved.

Pierre-Paul arrived in New York to take a physical for the Giants with his hand wrapped for protection, but tests reportedly showed that he doesn’t have any broken bones.

Ed Werder spoke to a Giants’ source and one close to JPP who both agreed that he’s unlikely to play in Week 1’s game against the Cowboys. Although, Werder added that Giants HC Tom Coughlin has yet to rule out the possibility of JPP playing.

New York wound up placing JPP on the reserve/franchise player list earlier in the week, but it sounds like he’ll be activated at some point in the near future. It’s worth mentioning that while he’s on this list, JPP won’t count against the team’s 53-man roster until he’s activated.

Pierre-Paul, 26, played out his five-year, $20.05 million rookie contract that included $11,629,807 million guaranteed. The Giants wound up using their franchise tag on Pierre-Paul back in early March, which will pay him a fully guaranteed salary of $14.813 million for the 2015 season.

In 2014, Pierre-Paul recorded 77 tackles, 12.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and a recovery over the course of 16 games. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 7 defensive end in a 4-3 system out of 59 qualifying players.