Osi wants to know his status with Giants

Osi Umenyiora wants to know where he stands, and he wants to know soon.

The defensive end, who on Wednesday said he'll walk away from football if he is forced to play a part-time role for the Giants in 2010, did not walk away from that statement Thursday as he traversed the media gantlet at the Super Bowl in South Florida. And he told the Newark Star-Ledger that he's anticipating a conversation that also will involve his agent and team officials to determine his status before the offseason program begins next month.

What is Umenyiora looking for?

"Just basically what their intentions are," he said in an interview with Mike Francesa on WFAN Thursday. "No disrespect towards the team. I love that team and I love the organization. I've spent the last quarter of my life there. But I need to know what the future holds."

Umenyiora said he doesn't know what the Giants' thinking is. He's certain about his thinking, though.

"I just know what I have to do for my career," he said in the radio interview. "They've shown that they're obviously going to do what's in their best interest, so I have to do whatever I feel is in my best interest [now that I'm] getting up there in age, you know?"

Umenyiora, 28, has three years left on his contract but said he will not rule out requesting a trade if he is unsatisfied with the response of the team. He already has threatened retirement.

Umenyiora was relegated to part-time status for the final five games of the 2009 season and said in the radio interview that he believes he was singled out.

"Who led the team in sacks for the fifth time in a row?" he asked. "Obviously, I feel I might have been singled out, but maybe they feel differently and I completely understand that. But are you going to point at the guy who led the team in sacks again and say this was the one problem on the defense? Really, come on.''

If Umenyiora disagrees with what the Giants tell him in any meetings in the coming weeks, he said he's ready for that, too.

"Whichever way they go, I completely understand," he said. "They've given me a great opportunity and I will love them for it no matter what."