ALBANY — Osi Umenyiora at varying times during the offseason has sounded militant, disgusted, contrite, irrational, sensible, agreeable and contradictory about his relationship with the Giants, his desire to stay, his demand to start and the possibility of an early retirement.
Umenyiora rarely has made as much sense as he did yesterday morning following brunch on a slow day at training camp. There was no practice for the Giants, but Umenyiora had plenty to say as he declared he has been “very selfish” for demanding a trade unless he was returned to his starting job at defensive end. Umenyiora also expressed confidence that he will be able to manage a hip condition that eventually will require surgery and that the longest he can see playing in the NFL is four more years.
“I think there’s enough out there for everybody,” Umenyiora said, referring to playing time. “Obviously I’ve been very selfish in the past with my demands and some of the things that I have wanted, but I don’t really feel that way any more right now.
“As soon as I get on that playing field I’m going to make plays, period,” he said. “No matter where they put me, if I’m coming off the bench, I’m just going to be the best bench player ever. It’s not a personal vendetta against me or anything that I’ve done in the past. I think that everybody needs to be a little bit less selfish and realize that there’s enough playing time, there’s enough money, there’s enough everything out there for everybody and I think we’ll be good to go.”
These calming words — his first since camp opened up last Sunday — are a sharp contrast to the Angry Osi who spewed venom after a season in which he was benched down the stretch. During this training camp he’s splitting time at right defensive end, with Mathias Kiwanuka usually getting first crack with the starting unit. Kiwanuka could emerge as the starter, though both would get plenty of time on the field as part of a rotation.
“Would I be cool with that? If they really felt like that was going to help this team win, then of course I would be cool with that,” Umenyiora said. “It would not affect my bottom line in any way.”
Ah yes, the bottom line. Umenyiora, given a contract extension before the Giants won the Super Bowl, was upset that the organization did not give him another one after the championship. Then he missed the entire 2008 season following left knee surgery to lose any possible negotiating leverage. He has three years and $10 million remaining on his contract.
Umenyiora’s just 28 but will he make it to the close of his deal?
Umenyiora said in a “best-case scenario” he will play four more years, but his hip issue and his desire could shorten that timeframe. He missed five games in 2006 with a torn hip flexor and ever since has had to deal with lingering problems, occasional flare-ups and the knowledge that he eventually will need surgery.
“It’s something that I need to do, that I need to have taken care of if I want to prolong my career,” Umenyiora said. “But I’m not sure if I want to do that anyway.”
Not sure if he wants to prolong his career?
“Sometimes I think about it and sometimes I’m like, really what am I prolonging my career for?” Umenyiora said. “I mean, everything that I wanted coming into the NFL, everything I wanted, I’ve accomplished, whether that’s winning a Super Bowl or being an all-star player or being financially secure, I’ve accomplished all that already.
“When I look around all I see is negativity and people saying I can’t do this and I can’t perform and I suck and at the end of the day I still feel like a exceptional player,” he said. “I look around and I hear about people saying that this team can’t go forward — I think we have an exceptional team — so this season right here is the most important, probably the most important year of my life.”