The ongoing speculation about Osi Umenyiora's contract can now end.
The Giants today announced that the two-time Pro Bowl defensive end has agreed to a restructured contract. The terms were not disclosed.
"I appreciate Osi's patience and effort through this process," general manager Jerry Reese said. "We talked it out, and it makes sense for everybody involved. We are very pleased, excited and looking forward to seeing number 72 on the field at Monday's OTA."
Umenyiora has not participated in the team's drills thus far this spring. He is the second prominent defensive player to sign a new contract this offseason, joining Mathias Kiwanuka.
"I'm just happy, I'm happy all that's over with," Umenyiora said. "It's time to get back to work. It was definitely frustrating (not being on the field this spring), but hearing some of the things they said, whether it was Kiwi or (Justin) Tuck or JPP (Jason Pierre-Paul) or Antrel (Rolle) – hearing the way they supported me, it made me want to come back even more and be around them. Those guys really stepped up for me. I really appreciate it and I'm happy to be here with them."
Umenyiora and the Giants have had discussions regarding his contract since the end of last year's lockout, and the end result is that all parties are happy.
"This gives me peace of mind, definitely," Umenyiora said. "We just resolved a situation. It really was affecting me in a bad way. Because I didn't like all the negativity that was surrounding the whole situation. I couldn't stand it, because if you know me, you know I'm not that type of person. I'm just happy all that is over with and I'll be there. I'll play out this contract, I'll play this year and I'll play my heart out."
Umenyiora said he is in top condition and is eager to return to the field with his teammates on Monday.
"I'll be there," he said. "I can't wait. I'm all in. Like Antrel says, I'm all in."
Umenyiora, 30, has been one of the Giants' very best players. A Pro Bowler in 2005 and 2007, he is entering his 10th NFL season. David Diehl and Umenyiora are the longest-tenured members of the team.
Umenyiora has 69.0 career regular season sacks, which place him fourth on the Giants' official career list (since 1982, when sacks were first recognized). He is 10.5 sacks behind No. 3 Leonard Marshall.
From 2004-10, Umenyiora was the Giants' sole or shared leader in sacks in six of seven seasons, missing only 2008, when he did not play a game after undergoing knee surgery. He was the team sack leader in four consecutive seasons with 7.0 in 2004, 14.5 in 2005, 6.0 in 2006 and 13.0 in 2007 and again with 7.0 in 2009. He was tied with Justin Tuck for the team lead in 2010 with 11.5. Umenyiora was the first Giant to top the team in sacks four years in a row since Lawrence Taylor led the team in five consecutive seasons from 1986-90.
Umenyiora also has 30 forced fumbles and 13 fumble recoveries. He is the only player in Giants history with three touchdowns on fumble returns.
Umenyiora has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week twice, Special Teams Player of the Week once and Defensive Player of the Month once.
In 2011, Umenyiora played in nine regular season games with seven starts and in four postseason games with no starts. He missed the season's first three games after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 19 and the Giants' four December games with an ankle injury suffered at New Orleans on Nov. 28. Despite those absences, Umenyiora finished second on the team with 9.0 sacks. He was credited with 25 tackles (16 solo), and two forced fumbles.
In the four-game postseason that culminated in a victory over New England in Super Bowl XLVI, Umenyiora tied with Justin Tuck for the team lead with 3.5 sacks. He had nine tackles (6 solo) and a forced fumble.
After sitting out those first three regular season games, Umenyiora had six sacks in his first four games. He made his season debut with two sacks at Arizona on Oct. 2 and added two sacks the following week vs. Seattle. Umenyiora had single sacks vs. Buffalo on Oct. 16, Miami on Oct. 30 and at San Francisco on Nov. 13. He returned to action the second time with two sacks in the victory over Dallas that clinched the Giants' NFC East title on New Year's Night.
In the postseason, Umenyiora had one sack in the NFC Wild Card Game vs. Atlanta, two in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game at Green Bay and a half-sack in the NFC Championship Game at San Francisco.
