Source: Osi to be traded by end of week

As the days on Osi Umenyiora's Giants career tick away, the only remaining issues seem to be which team he will be traded to and what they will have to give up to the Giants. Sources told Newsday on Monday, when the Giants first granted Umenyiora and his agent permission to seek a trade, that they would be asking for a first-round draft pick in return for the 29-year-old defensive end.

Any team that trades for Umenyiora would also have to sign him to a new contract, probably one that pays him close to $72 million over six years that Charles Johnson recently got from the Panthers.

"It's not the contract," a person familiar with the negotiations said about the sticking point in trade talks, meaning that compensation to the Giants is holding up a deal. Still, the source remained optimistic and said a deal will be done "definitely by the end of the week."

The Giants had no comment on those statements.

As for teams that could acquire Umenyiora, the Rams, Ravens, Chargers, Seahawks and Broncos have reportedly expressed an interest. A reunion with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in St. Louis would be not be far-fetched. Umenyiora also has a house in Atlanta, so the Falcons cannot be ruled out.

It may be more difficult than in past years for teams to give up first-round draft picks. The new CBA with its unofficial slotting of rookies and controlled costs, makes those picks far more valuable. The most recent star player to be traded away from the Giants, Jeremy Shockey, went to the Saints for a second- and a sixth-rounder.

Umenyiora has long been unhappy with his deal and has felt he is underpaid. In 2008, he considered a holdout but decided against it, only to injure his knee in a preseason game and not play that year. He was not as productive as he had been in the past in 2009 but last season he set an NFL record with 10 forced fumbles. He had hip surgery this offseason to correct a chronic issue, but though he has sat out of practices this week, it was not because of any injury.

This spring, he was one of 10 named plaintiffs in an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL. He said in an affidavit that Giants general manager Jerry Reese promised him several years ago that if he had two good seasons, the team would either give him a new contract or trade him to a team that would. Reese called that sworn statement "offseason chatter."

Umenyiora did stage a brief holdout at the start of camp for about 30 hours before reporting on the second day. He's been with the Giants since but has not spoken publicly.

The Giants were off Tuesday, so there were no meetings or practices for the team. But they return to work this morning, with or without Osi. Tom Coughlin said Monday night that Umenyiora is not yet a distraction to the team.

"We wouldn't want to go a whole lot further than this, obviously," the Giants coach said. "We want everybody focused on making our team better. The sooner that all of these things get resolved and we get Osi back on the field, the better we're going to be."

Notes & quotes. The Giants signed Gabe Watson, who played NT for the Cardinals . . . The team agreed to terms with WR Michael Clayton, a late addition to last year's roster who spent the summer working with Eli Manning & Co. during lockout-forced practices . . . The Giants practice Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. and the workouts are free and open to the public.