Osi Umenyiora ends his NFL career despite late New York Jets offer
Thursday 27 August 2015 11:01, UK
Osi Umenyiora has retired from the NFL after rejecting a late offer to join the New York Jets.
The London-born defensive end said on Wednesday he would have been happy to extend his career into a 13th year but only with the Jets' rivals, and his first team, the New York Giants.
Umenyiora is now planning to return to England to help grow the game in part of an initiative headed by the NFL's international chief Mark Waller.
The 33-year-old was drafted by the Giants in 2003 out of Troy University and spent his first 10 seasons with the franchise before signing a two-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons in 2013.
He piled up 85 sacks in his career, 75 of those with the Giants to place him fourth on the franchise's all-time list behind two of the league's greatest defenders, Michael Strahan and Lawrence Taylor.
Umenyiora signed a one-day deal with the Giants to ensure he could retire as a member of the Giants, although he joked at his retirement press conference that he had been trying to bargain with Giants general manager Jerry Reese to make it a two-day contract.
Reese and Umenyiora were alleged to have enjoyed a mixed relationship in their time together at the Giants, but Reese had nothing but fond words for him.
"Osi was an explosive, smart, crafty edge rusher who was a scary matchup for any offensive tackle in this league in his prime," Reese said. "He had all the moves and played the game right, and he was a great student of the game."
Umenyiora played on the Giants teams that won Super Bowls XLII and XLVI and was feted for similar praise from coach Tom Coughlin.
"Osi was a huge, huge part of those teams," Coughlin said. "That's the connecting link with all the guys. When they go away and then call back and talk, I express how much they mean to me as individuals, and I have to Osi.
And he will respond in the same way about his time here and what great memories he has and how fond his thoughts are of winning Super Bowls XLII and XLVI. In my mind, when I think of 42, I see 92, 72, 91 [the ends' jersey numbers] walking away with Tom Brady laying on the ground. I'll never forget that picture. That's a beauty."
