There had been speculation recently that the New York Giants and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who was slapped with a near-$17 million franchise tag prior to the start of free agency, were “not close” on a new deal.

As it turns out however, that was fake news. Or, at the very least, things changed quick, fast and in a hurry.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports the Giants and Pierre-Paul have finally and officially come to terms on a long-term deal.

The #Giants and star pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul have agreed to terms on a multi-year contract, source said. Huge. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2017

The #Giants and Jason Pierre-Paul, who agreed on a 4-year deal, have been through a LOT over the years. It took a lot of trust. Cool ending — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2017

The Giants originally applied the franchise tag to Pierre-Paul, but they did so with the intention of working out a long-term deal. If they couldn’t come to an agreement, the Giants would owe him $16.934 million for the 2017 season.

Pierre-Paul said after the Giants’ playoff loss that he had no desire to play under the franchise tag and the organization likely wouldn’t have wanted that either, given the extreme salary cap hit.

Working out a long-term deal will free up some of the cap space for the Giants. They have had one of the lowest amounts of salary cap space in the league this offseason.

Signing Pierre-Paul to a multi-year contract solidifies the Giants’ defensive line for the foreseeable future. This means Pierre-Paul, Olivier Vernon and defensive tackle Damon Harrison are all signed through the 2020 season, which brings a lot of optimism toward the defense for the future.

Pierre-Paul played extremely well in 2016 and had he not missed the final five games of the season, he likely would have been a top candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year.

The veteran edge rusher finished the 2016 season playing 12 games, recording 53 tackles and seven sacks. He had just started to hit a groove before he injured a core muscle in Week 13 that put him on the shelf for the rest of the season.

Now that the Giants reeled in one of their big fish, their attention can be applied elsewhere. Even though they signed Brandon Marshall, the Giants still need to upgrade other positions on offense.

Big Blue still has a lot of work to do in the offseason in order to improve for the upcoming season, but re-signing Pierre-Paul shows they are one step closer to doing so.