The injury that ended Jason Pierre-Paul‘s football career was not a torn ligament or a blindside hit. Ten years ago, on the kind of hot July 4th evening made for BBQs and bad decisions, the former Giants star lit a fuse that changed everything. Literally… At a neighbourhood party in Deerfield Beach, Florida, the man who used to maul quarterbacks blew up his right hand while trying to light the final set of fireworks. By the time he got to the hospital, he’d already lost “two and a half fingers.”

In that same season, he still managed to play eight games. Now 36, JPP’s not hiding from it. “What’s to be embarrassed about? There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s just you live and learn from it.” So, he is discussing it with clarity, perspective, and the perfect amount of raw insight that comes from being hit in the face by life and surviving to tell about it.

Jason Pierre-Paul told ESPN last week, “I wouldn’t want my kids to go through something I went through. … I learned from it. At the end of the day, I’m a big person, but this happened to me. It could happen to anybody.” There’s no regret in his voice. No awkward dodging. Simply being brutally honest and determined to prevent others from following in his footsteps. He continues to speak to victims of similar incidents, including NFL cornerback Marcus Peters’ cousin. He also advises children to avoid amateur pyrotechnics to stay safe. “I tell [Josiah – JPP’s son] straight up, ‘You got 10 fingers, right?’ He says, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Well, you want to stay with them? Once they’re gone, you can’t replace them.'”

Pierre-Paul remembers everything. The loss of blood. The terror. When he pleaded with physicians, “Don’t cut my hand off!” But they still had to amputate his right index finger. That ought to have ended the career. Instead, he gave the league 8 more years and 42.5 sacks. Former Giants executive Marc Ross once said, “In absolutely no way did we think he would play. He’s a medical marvel, really.” And he was not wrong.

There was the neck injury in 2019, a Super Bowl ring in 2020, and a comeback story that refused to quit. All while raising a family and keeping his father, who’s been blind since JPP was born, as the anchor of his perspective. “I tell [Josiah] straight up – some people are born with 10 fingers. Some people are born with disabilities,” Pierre-Paul said. “And to have 10 fingers is a natural gift…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.” So, no matter how many difficulties he faced, he’s not slowing down. But will he have a comeback?

Can Jason Pierre-Paul have a full-circle moment with the Giants?

JPP is still training, still ripping pull-ups like a man possessed (he’s at 25–30 now, by the way), and still sitting just 5.5 sacks shy of 100 for his career. That’s not a stat; that’s unfinished business. “I can still do it,” he says. And frankly, who are we to doubt him?

The man has played through with a broken neck and a disfigured hand despite years of being told it was finished. The only thing that might finally finish him off is the league’s obsession with youth and upside. But if any team should look past that? It’s the New York Giants. “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.”

A return to the Meadowlands would be poetic. A true full-circle moment. The same stadium that saw him chase Tom Brady, now possibly getting one last glimpse of the warrior who never let fireworks, broken bones, or doubters define him. Jason Pierre-Paul’s not asking for sympathy. He’s asking for one more snap. One more shot. And if it comes wearing blue again, it wouldn’t just be a comeback – it’d be a full circle moment.