Jason Pierre-Paul confident he’ll be ready to go against Saints

Jason Pierre-Paul was held out of Thursday’s practice with a sore shoulder but the New York Giants defensive end said it won’t keep him off the field this Sunday.

In the season opener,a 20-19 win at the Dallas Cowboys, Pierre-Paul registered six tackles. He will be counted on to be a big part of the Giants pass rush this weekend against the New Orleans Saints, who boast arguably the best quarterback in the NFL in Drew Brees.

If the Giants can collapse the pocket and make Brees uncomfortable, it could be a long afternoon for their secondary.

“It allowed me to play last Sunday. I’m not even worried about my shoulder,” Pierre-Paul said on Thursday. “We’re good. I’ll be out there Sunday…maybe.”

The “maybe” of course likely points to him being a part of the pass rush this weekend.

The good news for the Giants is that the early return on Pierre-Paul has been apositive this year. He signed a one-year contract with the Giants to return to this offseason, this after a 2015 cut in half from an offseason fireworks injury. Gone too is the club that wrapped his right hand all of last year, part of the fallout from that incident.

On Sunday, wearing a specially-designed glove, Pierre-Paul looked like his old self.

“I was cut eight games short and didn’t have any training camp. You have to put that into effect when you talk about stuff like that. Most people don’t put it into a factor that I had eight games and no training camp,” Pierre-Paul said. “Those are the things that count. I had all of that. I was able to come in and do what I do. Now, I have a whole 16 games ahead of me. It actually feels like a routine now. I’m just waiting for it.”