As any NFL follower knows by now, a Fourth of July fireworks accident and the resulting amputation of his right index finger has clouded the future of New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. He has yet to sign a $14.8 million franchise tender for the coming season, and any chance of a lucrative long-term deal beyond that is now very questionable.

Due to his uncertain status, it makes the most sense for Pierre-Paul to wait to sign his franchise tender when he is cleared to play and ESPN’s Ed Werder reported Pierre-Paul’s intention to do just that on Friday. But a report from Pro Football Talk on Saturday brought a different option to the table, with a suggestion that Pierre-Paul would sign the tender and come back by Week 1 if the Giants fully guarantee his salary for the 2015 season.

The Giants reportedly have no plans to sever ties with Pierre-Paul in the aftermath of his accident, so any chance they will rescind the franchise tender and allow the 26-year old to immediately become a free agent is non-existent. The two sides are effectively stuck with each other for the time being, for better or worse, and the Giants should feel no obligation to fully guarantee Pierre-Paul’s salary for this season.

It’s unfortunate what happened to Pierre-Paul, since it will certainly be life and career-altering. But on the other hand, it was a reckless error in judgement and a risk that he should not have even considered with everything that was at stake for him financially. The Giants didn’t force Pierre-Paul to rent a U-Haul van full of fireworks for the holiday, which is ridiculous on its own, and they surely had no hand in his decision to light the explosives while risking severe injury.

It makes sense if the Giants want Pierre-Paul to sign his franchise tender soon, so he can rehab under the direction of team doctors and his progress can be easily tracked. But Pierre-Paul reportedly did not allow the Giants to visit him in the hospital, which to me is a red flag that put any remaining leverage he had into the team’s hands. Any financial demands that come from Pierre-Paul’s agent, presumably in exchange for his reporting to camp as soon as he’s physically able to and regardless of his official status once the regular season starts, should be easily brushed off by the Giants.

Due to his own stupid mistake, the Giants will now get a severely limited version of one of their best defensive players and any thought to fully guaranteeing Pierre-Paul’s salary for this year should never be seriously entertained. If his performance is not to the team’s liking, even with diminished expectations whenever he is able to play this season, I fully expect Pierre-Paul to be elsewhere in 2016.

Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.