EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Former New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul doesn’t hesitate. He owns that Fourth of July accident 10 years ago that cost him “2½” fingers — the same as he does each of his 94.5 career sacks.
He has no choice but to be reminded of it when putting on a dress shirt and reaching for a button — or when he reminisces about a career he hopes is not over.
“I wouldn’t want my kids to go through something I went through. … I learned from it,” Pierre-Paul told ESPN in a phone conversation last week. “At the end of the day, I’m a big person, but this happened to me. It could happen to anybody.
“So put it out there. What’s to be embarrassed about? There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s just you live and learn from it.”
Pierre-Paul was lighting fireworks he’d purchased for a neighborhood party in Deerfield Beach, Florida, that Independence Day evening in 2015. He was having trouble lighting the last batch, and when it finally discharged, it was at the cost of Pierre-Paul’s right hand.
He remembers being on the verge of fainting because he was losing so much blood while being driven by a friend to nearby Broward Health North Hospital. After seeing the insides of his hand under the light inside the hospital, he told doctors, “Don’t cut my hand off!”
Pierre-Paul had his right index finger amputated. Despite wondering whether his Giants career was over, he managed to return for eight games in the 2015 season. He played two more seasons in New York, logging a total of 16.5 sacks in the three years that followed his injury.
“In absolutely no way did we think he would play,” former Giants vice president of player personnel Marc Ross said. “He’s a medical marvel, really.”
Pierre-Paul went on to have a double-digit sack season in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite the limitations from the hand. Already owning a ring with the 2011 Giants, he won a second Super Bowl in 2020 after overcoming a broken neck suffered in a 2019 car accident.
Pierre-Paul managed to continue his career with a deformed hand that he has come to accept. But it doesn’t define him, it’s simply part of his story: from a junior college unknown to a first-round draft pick to an All-Pro to a two-time Super Bowl winner. This is how he explains it to his 10-year-old son Josiah and plans to do the same with his younger children Joline, Jacie and Jason Jr.
“I tell [Josiah] straight up, listen, in life, some people are born with 10 fingers. Some people are born with disabilities. Some people are born with just natural gifts,” Pierre-Paul said. “And to have 10 fingers is a natural gift. You don’t know how you’re going to be created. You don’t know in life if you’re going to have trauma or you’re going to have dramatic changes but just be ready for it.
“And I explained to him … my daddy was blind since almost the day I was born. And look, I’m 36 now, and he’s still living. And he got a smile on his face and that’s all I care about.”
Pierre-Paul’s dad, Jean, lost his sight not long after his son was born. It hasn’t stopped him from living a happy and productive life. Pierre-Paul said that helped keep everything in perspective following the fireworks accident.
Now, it’s about learning from his mistakes and passing that knowledge down to the next generation. His kids don’t play with fireworks. If he has anything to say about it, they never will.
“I tell [Josiah] straight up, ‘You got 10 fingers, right?'” Pierre-Paul said. “He says, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Well, you want to stay with them? Once they’re gone, you can’t replace them.'”
Pierre-Paul continues to do speaking engagements and talks about the dangers of fireworks. He views that as part of his purpose.
He said he’s been talking with the cousin of former teammate and NFL cornerback Marcus Peters after he had a similar fireworks accident and lost four fingers. Peters connected the two and they now talk regularly, Pierre-Paul says.
“My message to kids is you never know how life is going to go,” he said. “Don’t put yourself in a predicament that you’re going to regret later.”
Pierre-Paul said there is no regret on his part. But he does sometimes wonder what his career would have been like if the accident had not happened. Would he have more than 100 career sacks? (He currently sits at 94.5.) More Pro Bowls and Super Bowls?
Getting to 100 sacks matters to Pierre-Paul, who is still training to play despite not being with a team in 2024. He says he works as hard now at 36 as he did a decade ago, waiting for that call from a team willing to give him a chance.
Once unable to hang straight from a pull-up bar, he says he’s now doing 25 to 30 pull-ups easily.
Pierre-Paul still believes he can help a team, that he can be a veteran closer.
“I can still do it,” he said.
If he had the opportunity to do it for a Giants team that drafted him in the first round out of USF in 2010, it would be something he welcomed — a full-circle moment.
“I think that’ll be dope. Tremendous,” Pierre-Paul said. “To go back somewhere where my career started … the fans know me and know the type of player that I am. I’ll always be that type of player and just give ’em everything I got, which I know it’ll be more than enough.”
The accident a decade ago is something Pierre-Paul carries with him, but he remains focused on the opportunity to try to get back and be the best version of his self.
“I got 7½ fingers. You’re still living,” he said. “You get an opportunity every day to take that deep breath, taste that nice drink you want to taste? Getting a glass of milk or having coffee in the morning, whatever is your thing.
“You get another chance of it every day. So why not be great at what you got going on?”