Despite the, no doubt, abundant free time he has between posting workout videos on Instagram and positive, often bordering on defiant, messages on Twitter, Jason Pierre-Paul hasn't taken the time to this point to address with the public his physical health or overall status, especially as it pertains to his ability to suit up for the New York Giants this season. Fortunately for Giants fans, former New York defensive end Osi Umenyiora may have just done that for him.
"If anybody could do it, it'll be him," Umenyiora told Brian Lewis of the New York Post, in regards to JPP's ability to return to the field this year. "He's a powerful, athletic football player. I relied more on technique: He was just more athleticism. A guy like that, he'd be able to.
"He's still young. He's going to be able to play football. I don't know if it's going to be this year, but he's going to be able to play."
That last line is the one that's likely to rankle some Giants fans. While many members of the Big Blue faithful will just wave away Umenyiora's comments as the suppositions of a clueless former player - a clueless former player who was just inducted into the team's Ring of Honor Sunday night - Umenyiora told Lewis that he'd actually spoken to Pierre-Paul recently.
"I talked to him. He's in good spirits," Umenyiora said after being honored, via Lewis. "He seems happy. I think he's just happy he's alive, you know what I mean, [after] all the stuff that he went through. As soon as he gets out here, he'll be OK.''
Umenyiora went on to say that he was hopeful that Pierre-Paul would be back playing "before the end of the year," but at this point, the date of JPP's assumed return is really anyone's guess.
Pictures revealed a gruesome injury that remains bandaged well after the Fourth of July accident. And despite the workout videos he's posted, Pierre-Paul looks to be much skinnier than he was when he last took the field in 2014. His NFL career may not be in jeopardy, but it seems his 2015 season may very well be.
