Giants' Umenyiora officially a holdout
Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora. Credit: David Pokress
Osi Umenyiora is officially a holdout.
The Giants opened training camp Friday with players reporting in the morning, taking in a team meeting at about 1 o'clock, and spending the afternoon on the field for the first time with a conditioning run. But Umenyiora, the disgruntled defensive end who wants either a new contract or a trade to a team that will give him one, was a no-show.
"Osi is not here," general manager Jerry Reese said. "He knows training camp opened today and he is not here . . . I can't control guys who are not here. I have no control over that."
The situation appeared to take a personal turn between Umenyiora and Reese last month when an affidavit by Umenyiora as part of the players' antitrust lawsuit against the NFL was leaked. In that document, Umenyiora testified that Reese promised if he had two good seasons, he would be rewarded with either a new contract or a trade.
Interestingly, Reese dismissed the official court document and sworn testimony as "offseason chatter."
"Sometimes people say things that they probably don't mean," Reese said. "I don't worry about things that people say in the offseason."
Earlier in the day, in a radio interview, Reese insisted his dealings with Umenyiora are strictly business and that he is not in a "feud" with the defensive end.
Under NFL rules, Umenyiora can be fined $30,000 per day for every day he does not report to training camp. The Giants' first real practice is at 6 p.m. Saturday, and many hope to see their teammate on the field. Most of all, Tom Coughlin.
"Osi is an excellent player," Coughlin said. "He's part of our team. He's under contract . . . What I would like to see happen is obviously Osi come in, sit down and talk to Jerry and then decide that he wants to be a Giant and make a difference on our team."
Justin Tuck, who earlier in the week said he had spoken to Umenyiora and predicted a holdout, said Friday that they haven't chatted since.
"Obviously, when we're out there [Saturday] and he's not there, you'll feel the effects of it because he's our starting right defensive end," Tuck said. "You lose a guy of that caliber and you're definitely going to feel the effects of it. But, you know, hopefully he's here. We'll see and wait."
