Giants pull Osi's trade shopping ability

When the Giants wanted Osi Umenyiora to report to training camp last week, he didn't show up. When they tried to send him home Wednesday, he wouldn't go.

Eventually, the team and the player might agree on something. But as of now it's hard to fathom anything short of a trade or a new contract bridging the gap between their desires.

"It seems like there's chapters," Tom Coughlin said of the faceoff that has become a page-turner.

The Giants have rescinded permission for the disgruntled defensive end to seek a trade, according to his agent, after giving Umenyiora about 48 hours to find a team willing to give up a first-round pick for him. The Giants had given their permission for Umenyiora to strike a deal on Monday morning but Wednesday they told his agent, Tony Agnone, that the play clock had expired before he could snap the ball.

The Giants' decision, while taking the power away from the player, does not close the door on a possible trade of Umenyiora. They still could deal him if a team comes forward with a first-rounder. Several teams expressed serious interest over the past few days, including the Ravens where coach John Harbaugh openly speculated about adding Umenyiora to the roster, and the Giants' stance could force teams desperate for an outside pass rusher to pay up.

Umenyiora met with GM Jerry Reese yesterday afternoon to discuss the latest developments. Reese told Umenyiora to take the rest of the day off after the meeting to clear his head, the team said, but when practice began at 6 p.m. Umenyiora was in the fieldhouse with the rest of the team. He was riding an exercise bicycle and not participating in practice.

Coughlin said he was not surprised to see Umenyiora.

"He was given the option and he was here," the coach said. "I was pleased. I think it's a good thing. I hope it's the kind of indication that we're all looking for."

The Giants and even those close to Umenyiora like Justin Tuck have all but said that the disgruntled defensive end is not being sidelined by a medical condition. Tuck called Umenyiora's daily ride on the exercise bike a "strategy."

It is unclear if Umenyiora will resume his holdout or report back to work this morning. If he is a holdout, the Giants could go back to fining him $30,000 per day as they did during his brief absence last week. If he returns and does not practice, the Giants could suspend him for conduct detrimental to the team.

"Unfortunately, we're kind of used to that around here," fellow defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka said of Umenyiora's track record of run-ins with the team.

Reese was unavailable for comment. A team spokesman said that he will "talk when there is something to talk about." Coughlin appears to be taking that same philosophy.

"When I do have something to tell you I'll tell you," Coughlin said, "but I don't know anything more than speculation."

Coughlin had said on Monday that Umenyiora was not a distraction, but he hoped it did not drag on much longer. The players seem to agree.

"Any time there's something like this hanging over, you want it to get settled," Eli Manning said. "But we can't make it a distraction. Everybody's got to keep working and guys who are on the field need to keep getting better . . . Hopefully it gets solved soon."

"It's one of those things that you try not to think too much about," linebacker Michael Boley said. "I'm glad he's in the building, that's for sure. It shows that he still wants to be here."