EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - The Giants have changed their minds about trading disgruntled defensive end Osi Umenyiora.
In an e-mail to Umenyiora's agent Tony Agnone, the Giants ordered him to stop speaking to other teams about a trade, the desired compensation for which would have been a first-round draft pick. Umenyiora, dissatisfied with a contract that will pay him $7.1 million over the remaining two seasons of a six-year, $41 million extension he signed in 2005, reportedly is looking for a six-year deal in excess of $10 million per year.
The Broncos, Ravens, Seahawks, Rams, and Chargers showed some interest in the pass rusher who finished last season with 11 1/2 sacks. But none was willing to give up a first-rounder.
Unless Giants general manager Jerry Reese changes his mind again, the team will either negotiate a new agreement with Umenyiora or force him to play under his current deal. Despite being cleared to practice following offseason hip surgery, Umenyiora has stayed off the practice field. He has attended team meetings. He missed the first day of training camp and incurred a $30,000 fine.
Umenyiora doesn't plan to be at practice anytime soon, short of a contract resolution. At a meeting Wednesday, Reese told him to take the rest of the day off to clear his head.
Umenyiora's situation has left his teammates in a quandary. They expressed confidence they had the right personnel to compensate for not having Umenyiora, and the Giants worked out former Rams and Redskins pass rusher Andre Carter this week.
Defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, who re-signed with the Giants for two years, $3.25 million after finding no opportunities in the free agent market, said he understood Umenyiora's dilemma.
"He's in the building, and obviously we'd love to have him on the field," Kiwanuka said.
Linebacker Michael Boley pointed to second-year player Jason Pierre-Paul as a quick remedy if Umenyiora stays off the field.
"He's a tremendous athlete," Boley said of the 6-foot-5, 270-pound Pierre-Paul, who finished third on the team last year with 4 1/2 sacks as a rookie. "To run the way he does at his size, and he's strong at that, he can make a lot of plays for us."
