Giants' Jason Pierre-Paul joked he doesn't need an index finger to play football


Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul managed to badly injure his hand playing with fireworks on the Fourth of July, and the saga has only gotten more bizarre from there. Though it might seem difficult for a professional athlete to shield information about how many fingers he has and exactly what shape they're in, ESPN recently reported the damage was worse than he originally let on.
Pierre-Paul, who had his right index finger amputated after the incident, sat out the Giants' season opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday and probably won't suit up for at least another five weeks. But of course, he wants you to know that his missing finger will absolutely not affect his dominance on the field.
"I can't think of the last time my index finger got me a sack," he tweeted with a winky emoji on Thursday.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Just hours after Pierre-Paul made light of his injury, the New York Daily News published the first public photos of his hand, and, well, things don't look too pretty. Julie Kliegman
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
-
Why reports of Donald Trump's demise are greatly exaggerated
In The Spotlight US president has once again brushed aside rumours that he's dead
-
Lose yourself in these magnificent mazes
The Week Recommends These fiendishly clever puzzles aren't just for kids
-
Crossword: September 4, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in Zürich
The Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle