Did Giants sign Jason Pierre-Paul to extension? His agent says yes after strong Pierre-Paul denial on Twitter
The New York Giants and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul agreed to a new four-year contract extension, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Pierre-Paul’s agent, Doug Hendrickson, confirmed the agreement a couple of hours after Pierre-Paul himself said no deal was done.
Here’s how the messiness unfolded on Twitter:
The #Giants and Jason Pierre-Paul, who agreed on a 4-year deal, have been through a LOT over the years. It took a lot of trust. Cool ending
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2017
What the heck is people talking about I ain't sign nothing.
— Jason Pierre-Paul (@UDWJPP) March 17, 2017
That's New York media for yah!! They always want the story first and they got it wrong.
— Jason Pierre-Paul (@UDWJPP) March 17, 2017
congrats JPP @UDWJPP on a great comeback story! signed, sealed and ready! @Giants @JustinTuck
— Doug Hendrickson (@DHendrickson41) March 17, 2017
The Giants placed the franchise tag on Pierre-Paul in February, which guaranteed him a one-year tender contract for $16.9 million. It was believed that the Giants and Pierre-Paul wanted to keep JPP in the fold long term, and reducing his 2017 salary-cap figure should help alleviate things.
That said, the reported terms from ESPN’s Adam Schefter are big (four years at about about $17 million per year, with about $54 million guaranteed), so any cap relief might be minimal even if the deal is structured cleverly.
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Pierre-Paul’s football career has taken a few interesting twists and turns along the way, so perhaps this is not stunning. He is entering his eighth season in the NFL, and his future very much was in doubt when he suffered a major injury in a bizarre fireworks accident over Fourth of July weekend in 2015. But he responded by returning to the field that season and backed it up with a strong season in 2016 in which he was playing his best ball by season’s end.
It’s now possible that the Giants could retain defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, who appears to have misjudged the market and reportedly was seeking big money. The Giants would love to keep the front as intact as possible, and Hankins returning next to Damon Harrison would be a big and perhaps slightly unexpected development. The Giants had been a mere $3.9 million below the cap prior to Pierre-Paul’s new deal.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
