Jason Pierre-Paul says his back injury was worse than hand injury
New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul removes the bandage from his damaged hand after the Giants defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 32-18 during an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015, in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP / Phelan M. Ebenhack
Jason Pierre-Paul compared playing with his injured hand to returning from back surgery in 2013, and surprisingly enough, he feels this one is easier.
"Yeah, I'm missing an index finger," he said, "but my back was worse."
Similarities between the two do exist, though.
"Anytime you have an injury you're going to be iffy about stuff," he said. "I find myself being iffy about stuff. Just like my back surgery, I was scared to turn the corner and at some point in that season I turned the corner."
He finished that season with just two sacks before going on IR with a shoulder injury for the final five games. But there was a span of several games when he was "the old JPP," including the game in which he intercepted a pass from Aaron Rodgers and returned it for a touchdown.
"I was doing pretty good, I trusted myself," he said of that short stint in 2013. "I just have to trust myself even more."
He's getting there. He said he hopes to lose the club-style wrap on his hand at some point this season which would allow him to have free use of the remaining fingers on his right hand. He said the club is there to protect the injuries, even though he insists they do not cause him any pain.
With his back, he was limited in his movements. With this injury, he seems unfettered in his athleticism and limited only in certain techniques that he should be able to work around as he plays more snaps throughout the season.
Tom Coughlin said Pierre-Paul "proved that he's a highly conditioned athlete and was at his best probably when his best was needed at the end of the game. So I expect that he'll rev it up and be ready to go for even more."
It took much longer in 2013.
"My hand, people think it's worse," he reiterated. "But I think my back surgery was worse."
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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