Osi Umenyiora wants to play more, but doesn't rule out Giants
Osi Umenyiora warms up before a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. (Oct. 14, 2012) Credit: Getty
Free agents usually have a list of demands at this time of year. Osi Umenyiora has a particular one: the opportunity to be the NFL's defensive player of the year.
That's what the defensive end told the NFL Network , hours before teams were allowed to contact his representatives about a new contract and days before he almost certainly will have his Giants career come to an end.
Asked about the kind of team he would consider signing with, Umenyiora said: "It would be anybody that I think would need me to help them win and anyone who is going to put me in a situation to win defensive player of the year, which is what I am going to do this year."
That might exclude the Giants, as they have used Umenyiora in a rotation the last few years. But the 10-year veteran insists -- on the eve of freedom from a contract he has squabbled over for four seasons -- that he could remain a Giant.
"I'd love to return there. That is home," he said. "I've spent a third of my life there in New York, but there are a lot of things that are going to have to go on, a lot of people they are going to have to take care of. It is going to be a tough situation. This is my first chance at free agency, so I have to go see what is out there."
That will be a new experience for him. "It is a little strange," he said. "I have never been through this. Even in college, I wasn't actively recruited by anybody. I am a little scared, a little nervous, a little excited, some trepidation. I am feeling all kinds of things right now.''
Ticket costs the same; parking up. The Giants informed season-ticket holders through email that ticket prices will remain the same for a fourth consecutive season. However, the cost for a parking pass will increase from $25 to $30.
Non-club tickets cost from $85 to $160 each. Club tickets cost from $250 to $700 apiece.
The email said payment for season tickets and parking is due on May 1.
MetLife Stadium will host Super Bowl XLVIII in February, but that obviously is not included in the season-ticket package.
