NY Giants GM Jerry Reese and Osi Umenyiora see brighter days ahead after Super Bowl XLVI win over New England PatriotsWhen the 2011 season began, a disgruntled Osi Umenyiora didn’t even want to be a Giant. And a resolute GM Jerry Reese was prepared for a standoff.
One dramatic Super Bowl run later, both parties have warmed up to each other, a timely change of heart that at least leaves the door slightly ajar for Umenyiora to finish his career as a Giant. Six months ago, that notion seemed far-fetched, yet there Reese was on Saturday at the NFL Combine, saying that he would be open to discussing a contract extension with the 30-year-old pass-rushing defensive end.
“It could happen,” Reese said. “But we have a lot of issues to look at, and we just have to formulate a good game plan and see if we can get it done.”
Reese said there have been no contract discussions yet, and he hasn’t spoken to Umenyiora since the Giants’ parade up the Canyon of Heroes. Umenyiora will earn $4 million this season, the final year of his six-year $41 million deal. He made nine sacks last season despite missing seven games battling knee and ankle injuries. He added 3½ more sacks in the postseason, including a crucial strip sack of Aaron Rodgers in the upset win over the Packers in the divisional round.
Umenyiora remains one of the league’s most underpaid elite pass-rushers, but his frustration over that has cooled. He began this offseason by promising to stay “really quiet” in a radio interview, and on Friday, during a SiriusXM NFL Radio interview, he quipped that “if it came down to me making less to stay here, I would.”
Reese called much of the preseason circus surrounding Umenyiora “overblown a little bit,” and added that Umenyiora’s play was “terrific” during the Giants’ playoff run. He said he’s had a handful of positive conversations with Umenyiora, too.
“I think he loves the Giants,” Reese said. “He loves to play football. He’s been with us his entire career, and I think he’d like to retire a Giant.”
It won’t be easy to make that dream a reality because the Giants are hardly in a prime salary-cap position. Teams won’t know their official 2012 cap figure until next month, but Reese admitted that the Giants are in no position to spend freely.
“We have some work to do,” he said.
And plenty of players to pay. Any Umenyiora extension must take into account the future of the Giants’ defensive line. Justin Tuck’s current deal will expire in two years. And if Umenyiora gets a monster extension, how will the Giants compensate phenom Jason Pierre-Paul, who is signed through 2015 but scheduled to make just $825,000 this season?
The Giants must also find money to re-sign 21 unrestricted free agents, including corner Terrell Thomas — who missed all of 2011 with a right ACL tear — and punter Steve Weatherford, and they must find a way to placate breakout receiver Victor Cruz, who is already clamoring for a raise after making just $490,000 in 2011 despite being the third leading receiver in the entire league.
Still, Reese did maintain that the Giants are prepared to at least consider some kind of extension for Umenyiora. And that’s a far better situation than anything the Giants seemed set for last summer.
“We are open to everything right now,” said Reese. “But we don’t know what we can do right now.”
Get it done!
