Getty Images

Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul was on the field with the Giants for their first practice of the offseason on Tuesday, which marked a big change from where he was last offseason.

Pierre-Paul didn’t do any offseason work with the Giants because he was playing the post-franchise tag game and said Tuesday that last season “would have been better for me if I was here.” It also would have been better for him if he had not blown off a finger and parts of two others on his right hand in a July 4 fireworks accident, something that kept him out of the lineup for half the season and limited him upon his return because he was forced to wear a club on his hand.

Pierre-Paul had another surgery on his hand after the season and says he’ll be able to wear a glove on his hand this time around. That leaves him feeling confident that he’ll do more than just make it back to the player he was before his injuries.

“I am the player I used to be,” Pierre-Paul said, via ESPN.com. “Just a couple injuries here and there, but I’m all right. I’ll be better than I was. … I knew I was going to need surgery after the season — that’s the reason I played with the club. But now, I’m past that. I’m looking forward, and I’m hitting the bags normal, I’m grabbing normal — I’m not even limited, so it’s a straight shot from here.”

April is the time for boundless optimism and there’s every reason to believe that Pierre-Paul will be better this year than he was last year given more time to figure out how to play with a damaged hand. Going any further than that is going to have to wait until he’s on the field against opponents, but it’s a better starting point than last year at the very least.