Jason Pierre-Paul kept the Giants at arm’s length while recovering from the loss of a finger in a fireworks accident.
And Giants co-owner John Mara thinks his franchise-tagged defensive end is receiving bad counsel.
Via Steve Serby of the New York Post, Mara said it was “very disappointing” that Pierre-Paul would not allow Giants officials to visit him in the hospital, and that he had “no idea” when Pierre-Paul would report.
“I don’t think JPP is receiving very good advice right now,’’ Mara said. “He has told people that he’s fine and he’s going to be ready to play, but until we see the hand, we’re just not sure.”
The Giants report to camp Thursday, though Pierre-Paul is not expected to be there after the severe injuries suffered on July 4th.
When asked his initial reaction to the news, Mara said it wasn’t fit for print.
“I think I may have used some language that I wouldn’t like my grandchildren to hear me use,’’ Mara said. “I could not believe, that here we haven’t even gone to training camp yet and we’ve lost two starters — one [left tackle Will Beatty] in the weight room and one to a fireworks accident. So it was more of a state of disbelief that I was in. I’ve been around a long time, seen a lot of things, . . . but this one was a shock.’’
Mara also wasn’t prepared to discuss how it would affect Pierre-Paul’s contractual future with the team. He hasn’t signed his $14.8 million tender and the team hasn’t rescinded it, though they did pull their long-term offer off the table.
But until they can get a good look at him, they won’t know how to proceed.