2012 NFL Offseason: Osi Umenyiora Fuels Trade Speculation

Veteran defensive end Osi Umenyiora is seeking a contract extension from the New York Giants—the only team that he has played for during his nine-year NFL career.

It eluded him last offseason, prompting the 30-year-old to skip the first day of Giants training camp in what amounted to a brief holdout.

He eventually settled back in with his team and played under his current deal, a seven-year pact signed near the conclusion of the 2005 regular season. 

He's set to make just $3.975 million in 2012, the final year of his deal, and talk of a new contract is once again on his mind.

Problem is, Umenyiora isn't convinced that Giants general manager Jerry Reese will offer him one, despite Reese stating that he is receptive to the idea. "I was happy that he said that. But is it really going to happen? I don't think so. I doubt it because of the situation that they have with Jason (Pierre-Paul), Justin (Tuck), Victor (Cruz) and Hakeem (Nicks) coming up (eventually), a bunch of young players they have to take care of."

With that being the case, Umenyiora seems to think it would be shrewd of the team to trade him with a year remaining on his contract, rather than allowing him to walk free on the open market next offseason: "Next year, if I leave (after the contract is up), they won't get anything. Maybe they will get a compensatory pick. But that's it. So if they are going to do it, now would be the best time to (make a trade)."

As we draw within hours of the start of the NFL draft, it's possible that the Giants are interested in orchestrating a deal that would net them picks in exchange for the defensive end, although there has been no inclinations that the team is interested in doing so.

Umenyiora has career totals of 333 tackles, 69.0 sacks and 30 forced fumbles and is widely regarded as one of the league's effective pass-rushers.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1160798-2012-nfl-offseason-osi-umenyiora-fuels-trade-speculation

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