Umenyiora out for season with injured knee

[peepinmofo]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football...r_season_w.html

 

YIKES!!!

 

I guess this settles how much DE Tuck plays...

[hooknladder]

Giants have something tucked away for a rainy day....or Strahan:

We’re told that the New York Giants will embark on possible strategies for replacing defensive end Osi Umenyiora with more than $12 million in 2008 cap space.

 

And that gives them more than enough cushion to pursue Michael Strahan, if they so choose.

 

Strahan had been due to earn $4 million in 2008. He reportedly wanted $8 million to return. Now that he has moved on with his life, and now that the Giants have a clear need for his services, Strahan’s price tag surely we’ll increase.

 

As we mentioned earlier in the day, the Jets are paying Brett Favre $12 million for 2008. Our guess is that Strahan will want the same amount in order to bail out Big Blue.

[MrTed46]

Giants have something tucked away for a rainy day....or Strahan:

We're told that the New York Giants will embark on possible strategies for replacing defensive end Osi Umenyiora with more than $12 million in 2008 cap space.

 

And that gives them more than enough cushion to pursue Michael Strahan, if they so choose.

 

Strahan had been due to earn $4 million in 2008. He reportedly wanted $8 million to return. Now that he has moved on with his life, and now that the Giants have a clear need for his services, Strahan's price tag surely we'll increase.

 

As we mentioned earlier in the day, the Jets are paying Brett Favre $12 million for 2008. Our guess is that Strahan will want the same amount in order to bail out Big Blue.

 

I heard (no link) on ESPN radio that Big Blue had about 12-13mil of cap left for 2008. I can see strahan getting 9mil for the year.

[hooknladder]

Defensive end Michael Strahan reportedly wanted $8 million to return for another year. When the Giants declined to pay it, he opted to retire.

 

Now that the team is in dire straits after the season-ending knee injury suffered by defensive end Osi Umenyiora, Strahan reportedly isn’t putting his thumb on the scale, even though he arguably could.

 

Per Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, Strahan’s asking price remains at $8 million.

 

“If the Giants make a sincere overture, it’s a good chance that Strahan would consider coming back,” an unnamed source told Vacchiano. ”There are other things he has to take into consideration: the money and his contract with Fox. But if the Giants really want him, they have a shot. It’s not out of the question.”

 

Vacchiano also reports, however, that the team doesn’t seem to be interested in bringing Strahan back at this point. For now, the team intends to replace Umenyiora by moving Mathias Kiwanuka, a former defensive end, from linebacker back to defensive end.

 

As we see it, if the Giants think they can get Strahan for $8 million — which is only $1.5 million more than they were willing to pay — we can’t imagine the Giants not bending a knee in order to bring Strahan back.

 

While Strahan has stayed in shape, he reportedly has lost ten pounds of muscle mass. So he might need some time to get that back, and he might not be as effective until he does.

 

Permalink | 6 Comments Back to Top

MONDAY MORNING ONE-PER-CLUB ONE-LINERS

[Czarina]

I just read a blurb at boston.com saying that Kiwanuka will move to DE to fill in for Osi. Now, the question is, will mfl update his designation?

[hooknladder]

A New Jersey appeals court ruling that is due tomorrow could sway Michael Strahan’s decision about whether to return to the Giants or stay retired.

 

According to the New York Post, a New Jersey state appeals court is expected to rule Tuesday on how much money Strahan owes his ex-wife, Jean Strahan. Per the Post, Michael Strahan has already paid half of a $15.3 million award to Jean Strahan, but the ruling coming tomorrow will determine whether Jean is also entitled to a $6.5 million payment as part of a pre-nuptial agreement.

 

Strahan walked away from a $4 million base salary with the Giants in 2008 to take about $2 million to work as an analyst for Fox. So if money was his only motivation, he wouldn’t have retired in the first place.

 

But now that Osi Umenyiora is hurt, the Giants are believed to be offering significantly more than $4 million to get Strahan to change his mind. And the combination of such an offer with, potentially, an appeals court ruling that would leave Strahan lighter in the wallet, could be just the nudge Strahan needs to get back on the field.

[hooknladder]

Despite reports that the Giants have opened a dialogue with retired defensive end Michael Strahan regarding the possibility of playing again in 2008, coach Tom Coughlin doesn’t seem to think that Strahan will come back — and Coughlin doesn’t seem to be interested in discussing the subject.

 

Strahan’s name has come up because defensive end Osi Umenyiora appears to be lost for the year with a torn meniscus in his knee. He’ll have surgery on Tuesday to repair it.

 

“[strahan’s] mentality was different last year,” Coughlin said Monday, regarding the fact that Strahan didn’t show up in 2007 until six days before the start of the regular season. “The last time I talked with Michael he had accepted his new challenge and was very happy about that.”

 

Coughlin also said that he had been involved in no discussions with Strahan, and Coughlin cautioned a reporter not to be a “smart aleck” when the reporter tried to parse through Coughlin’s explanation.

 

The situation is becoming bizarre, and we get the impression that neither side truly wants a reunion, but that each side wants to create the impression that the other side is the one that doesn’t want it.

 

It also could be that some in the organization want Strahan to return, but that Coughlin prefers not to bring him back. From Coughlin’s perspective, it makes sense. Without Strahan, Coughlin has a built-in excuse if the team stumbles in 2008; with Strahan, it’s harder to make the case that the ultimate failure of the team to make the playoffs (if that happens) can be pinned on the absence of key personnel on defense.

 

Permalink | 4 Comments Back to Top