When the offseason was getting underway, Osi Umenyiora said that he had no plans to retire.
Whether because of a change of heart or lack of the desired interest level in his services around the league, it appears that Umenyiora has had a change of heart. Dan Graziano and Adam Caplan of ESPN reported Monday that Umenyiora is talking to the Giants about signing with the team, but not as an option to help them while Jason Pierre-Paul is healing. It will be a one-day contract to retire with the team he spent most of his career with and several other Giants beat writers have subsequently reported the same plan.
Umenyiora played for the Giants from 2003-2012 and recorded 75 sacks for the team as a defensive end. That’s good for fourth all-time in team history and Umenyiora also won a pair of Super Bowl rings during his time in New Jersey. Those highlights were interspersed with frequent complaints about his contract and/or role, but the sum total of Umenyiora’s time with the Giants were positive for both the team and the player.
He spent the last two seasons in Atlanta, recording 7.5 sacks in 2013 before slumping along with many other Falcons last season.
