Osi Umenyiora leaving the Giants for the Falcons

In a long anticipated wait and see strategy, it’s now clear that free-agent defensive end Osi Umenyiora is expected to sign a contract with the Atlanta Falcons. Umenyiora’s agent Tom Condon and the Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff are actively working on the details of the contract. When asked about the contract discussions Dimitroff said the talks were, “fluid and amicable.”

The 31-year-old defensive end has been with the New York Giants his entire nine-year NFL career. He will be known as one of the most prominent Giants players in his time becoming a two-time Super Bowl champion who led the NFC in sacks in 2005 as well as being selected twice to the Pro Bowl. With John Abraham’s departure, Umenyiora will be a perfect fit and he will no doubt immediately become a defensive factor for the Falcons.

During last season Umenyiora had 43 tackles and six sacks and in the prior season he had 11.5 sacks and 10 forced fumbles. Despite his performance, there had been some fallout between Umenyiora and Giants General Manager Jerry Reese over new contract desires. Due to the Giants cap space, this signing came as no surprise for many but still a hard realization for New York fans.

Umenyiora who lives outside the Atlanta area spoke on his transition from the Giants to the Falcons on the radio show 92.9 The Game this past Friday.

“There was nothing better than being able to win there [in New York],” Umenyiora also said, “The only thing I can think of, for myself personally, [better] than being able to win in New York would be if I was able to win here at home in Atlanta. So we’ll see how that plays out. Hopefully, it will work out in a positive direction.”

Signing a two-time Super Bowl champion and veteran will be seen as a solid addition to the Falcons defense and organization. I look for the Falcons to be a team in the playoffs once again next year with a real shot at winning the Super Bowl.

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