The NY Giants have started offseason workouts and Jason Pierre-Paul is a no-show to start and that was an expected move after he was hit with the franchised tag, as he is hoping for a long term contract and this comes as New York has not signed Eli Manning to an extension and that could lead the team to draft someone like Bryce Petty or Brett Hundley as a future replacement.
The Giants opened offseason workouts this week and while players like Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, Odell Beckham and Rashad Jennings were present, JPP was not. That was an expected move, as Pierre-Paul remains unsigned and there is a chance he could hold out for the entire offseason. According to ESPN New York, the Giants have JPP on the franchise tag and if the two sides can't work out a deal by mid-July, he could end up signing the one year tender.
The Giants had hoped to get a deal done with Pierre-Paul before using the franchise tag earlier in the offseason, but the two sides did not get close. The Giants have said that they are comfortable using the tag on Pierre-Paul and that a one year deal would be a placeholder for hopefully a long term solution. The one year deal is for $14.8 million this year and while that is a lot, it's about what the team would pay for JPP on the market anyway, making the tag not a bad move for the Giants.
The team wants to keep Pierre-Paul, but after a couple of down years, some injuries and his age, a one year deal could be a safe option. The team can see how JPP plays and if he ends up staying healthy, they likely would be paying him about that much anyway, as Robert Quinn is making over $15 million per season. JPP is among the many players hit with the franchise tag that are not reporting, including Demaryius Thomas, Justin Houston and Dez Bryant.
Eli Manning is coming into the offseason heading into the final year of his contract and so far the Giants and the QB have not been close to getting a deal done. Manning said that he is fine with playing out his deal and others have speculated that it's likely a deal will get done before he hits the market. The uncertainty could force the team to consider a QB in the draft and names like Taylor Kelly, Shane Carden, Bryce Petty and Brett Hundley could be options. Steve Serby at the NY Post predicts that a deal will get done with Manning and he will finish his career with the Giants.
Earlier in the offseason the New York Daily News reported that the Giants have no problem with Pierre-Paul playing under the one year deal. JPP is 26 and he has been very good for the Giants, but he also has had two down seasons in the middle part of his career and that could concern the team. Pierre-Paul had his best season when the team won the Super Bowl, making 16.5 sacks and 87 total tackles. JPP had a bounce back season with 12.5 sacks last year after putting up eight the previous two seasons.
