We encountered a newOsi Umenyiora on Monday. With his long-running act as a disgruntled New York Giants defensive end in the books, Umenyiora has moved on to play the role of "delighted company man," happy with his refurbished contract and singing the praises of the team's front office.
Now that he's been paid, Umenyiora believes the Giants were correct to place him in the middle of the pecking order on their talented defensive line (not a full 180 from Osi, but close).
"If I was them I'd do the same thing," Umenyiora told the New York Post on Monday after wrapping his first OTA session of 2012. "I mean obviously you have (Justin) Tuck, who's the face of the franchise, and you have (Jason Pierre-Paul), who's a young phenom. Obviously I'm still a very good football player, but ... you can't pay us all that kind of money, there's just no way you can do that. All of us are All-Pro players. You can't pay us all like All-Pros. They had decisions to make and I completely respect them. If I had to pay two defensive ends top defensive end money, it would be JPP and Tuck."
A source told NFL Network's Albert Breer that Umenyiora is set to make $6.5 million in 2012, a deal he struck with the team after firing his agent. He's since mended that fence and plans to bring Tony Agnone back into the fold to help hammer out his next contract.
We doubt that will take place in New York. As we've mentioned, this is shaping up to be Umenyiora's final year with the Giants. We'll wait until 2013 to find out. For now, we can steer into the days of summer -- the first in some time -- minus daily updates on Umenyiora's unhappy soul. The man has been paid; it's time to go to work.
