Jason Pierre-Paul Comments on Amputation Request, Fireworks Incident and More

New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who had to have his right index finger amputated and suffered other hand injuries after a fireworks accident on the Fourth of July, briefly spoke with Steve Serby of the New York Post about the incident.

Pierre-Paul told Serby he wasn't particularly scared afterward but lost a lot of blood and recognized immediately that he needed to get to the emergency room. At the hospital, before passing out, he told the doctor not to amputate his hand.

"It’s easier to take a shortcut out," he said, explaining why he felt the need to tell the doctor not to amputate his hand. "I knew for a fact that my hand. ... I might say it’s severely damaged or whatever, but I knew it wasn’t that bad, like I can still play football."

Before passing out, he heard the doctors say, “Yeah, we’re gonna have to cut his whole hand off” and “I don’t think we’ll be able to save it.”

Ultimately, however, he kept his hand. 

JPP didn't elaborate further, saying he would tell the full story after the season.

He returned to the field against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Nov. 8 after settling a contract dispute with the Giants in late October. The Giants had used the franchise tag on him last offseason, but he never signed the $14.8 million tender before his injury. 

He's notched six tackles and a pass deflection in three games this season.