This patch of grass did more to alter Jason Pierre-Paul’s football career than any corner of MetLife Stadium.
The Giants defensive end took Sports Illustrated to tour the South Florida yard where he sustained serious injuries to his right hand last July 4 in a fireworks accident. He missed half of last season, and after showing diminished grip in her return to the field, signed just a one-year, $10 million “prove-it” contract this offseason.
As the 27-year-old Pierre-Paul recalls it now, he felt like going home, but the anticipation of neighborhood kids kept him around for the detonation that resulted in the loss of his index finger and major damage to his thumb and middle finger.
“It wasn’t scary at all. I just went straight to the hospital. Didn’t panic, no nothing, I just went straight to the hospital,” Pierre-Paul told The Post’s Steve Serby in December. “I lost a lot of blood, yeah. … I just told the doctor not to cut [off] my hand and passed out.”
