With defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and the Giants potentially headed for a grievance over whether the team is willing to clear him to play, JPP has gone back to (where else?) social media to prove that he can lift weights despite the graphic damage to his right hand.
Via Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News, Pierre-Paul has shared on Instragram a video of Pierre-Paul lifting weights. In the video, Pierre-Paul bench presses what appears to be 225 pounds. And he appears to manage only five reps.
Five reps. At the Scouting Combine in 2010, Pierre-Paul bench-pressed 225 pounds 19 times. So it’s clear that he has lost some strength during the period of time that he couldn’t lift.
Even now, Pierre-Paul is using a towel on top of his right hand to allow for the weight to be pushed away from his chest. Which invites speculation as to the other limitations he’s facing when trying to engage in the various other exercises that a player needs to do to maintain an NFL physique.
With each week that he doesn’t play, Pierre-Paul loses more than $870,000 in salary. As of Thursday night, when the Giants host Washington, the total losses will surpass $2.5 million.