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UPDATE 4:36 p.m. ET
Jason Pierre-Paul has had his physical with the Giants. Next step is for Giants doctors to determine when/if they think he'll be ready. ...
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoNYDN) September 7, 2015
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ORIGINAL STORY
The summer-long odyssey that has become Jason Pierre-Paul's contract situation appearss to be entering into its final chapter.
A report surfaced today that Pierre-Paul is flying in from South Florida today to meet with the New York Giants.
The #Giants and Jason Pierre-Paul are planning to reunite today, sources say. He’s scheduled to fly in and take an all-important physical.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 7, 2015
It has been expected that JPP wouldn't come in to the Giants' facilities if he couldn't pass a physical, so it seems likely that he will sign his franchise tag soon.
Once he signs his tag, JPP will once again be under contract, and eligible for the Non-Football Injury list if the Giants believe he isn't yet fully healthy.
If, or when, the question of whether or not JPP's hand is healthy enough to allow him to play football again is answered, there will still a couple more questions to be answered.
The first of these is "When will he be able to play?" Pierre-Paul had made no secret that he was transforming his body from the 285-pound thumper the was under Perry Fewell to a sleeker, more explosive 265 pounds for Steve Spagnuolo's defense. However his injury and recovery has almost certainly gotten in the way of that. Regardless of his weight, the Giants need to find out what kind of shape their star defensive end is in.
And even beyond that, there is a stark difference between "In Shape" and "In Football Shape". Is JPP ready for the rigors of an NFL game? If he isn't, when will he be?
After that comes the all-important question: "How good can JPP be?" It is entirely reasonable to expect that there will need to be an adjustment period while he gets used to playing with his surgically repaired hand, and gets used to Steve Spagnuolo's defense. But compared to the rest of his career that should be relatively brief. The real questions is "What will be his new ceiling?" His injury shouldn't have affected his freakishly long arms, his quick first step, his ability to turn speed into power, bend around the edge, or the strength in his legs, hips, and core.
But we can't know where his head is, whether or not he can fully adapt to how it now feels to play the game, or how much his diminished grip strength will limit his ability to control and discard offensive linemen.
These are questions we'll still have to wait for answers for, but at least JPP will soon be back in house. At least now the Giants, and us, can start getting some answers.