The Tennesse Titans and Osi Umenyiora
By Jason Peters
It seems that the New York Giants are coming to the point where it may be in their best interest to make a deal for Osi while they can. For those of you that don’t know, Umenyiora kind of screwed himselfback in 2005 when he signed an 8-year, $34 million dollar deal. What may have seemed lucrative at the time ended with him making the same in 2011 as Robert Geathers. Well after seven long years, with a lot of griping and public standoffs along the way, Osi finally enters his contract year, in search of a more lucrative deal that will almost certainly be his last. And while he will get a new contract, it will most certainly not be with the Giants.
You see, there is a slight problem in that the New York Giants currently project to be roughly two million dollars over the salary cap. That’s right, before they can even think about signing anyone, they have to shave money off the books, then shave that much more in order to pay whomever they would like to bring on. That doesn’t even include the money needed to pay whatever newly drafted players the team acquires this off-season. All of this points to the team being in a position to have to trade and outright release certain players in order to balance the books. For the Giants, trading Osi makes a lot of sense, even if his stats (and teamates), may argue otherwise. They currently have two of the top defensive ends in the game; Jason Pierre-Paul from a pass rushing perspective, and Justin Tuck on every level of his game. Unfortunately for Umenyiora, this makes him somewhat expendable on this particular team, as does the fact, at 30 years old, most GM’s become wary of dishing out contracts of any substantial length. Also, Pierre-Paul is entering year three of his rookie contract, and if he posts another season like last, he will be demanding to get paid, and handsomely at that.
Which brings us to our beloved Titans. As all of us understand, we are on the hunt for a playmaker on the defensive line, or at any position on that side of the ball for that matter. The last four playing seasons of Osi’s career (he missed 2008) break down as follows:
2011: 25 Tackles, 9 Sacks, 2 Forced Fumbles
2010: 48 Tackles,11.5 Sacks, 10 Forced Fumbles
2009: 29 Tackles, 7 Sacks, 4 Forced Fumbles
2007: 52 Tackles, 13 Sacks, 5 Forced Fumbles
So a couple things right off the bat. First: 10 forced fumbles in a season? Are you kidding me? Second: He also has 12 passes deflected on his career, which strikes me as less than ordinary for a defensive lineman. Third, I recognize that his total tackles are fairly low, but do these numbers strike you as that of a situational player? Admittedly, I never paid much attention, but I was very surprised to find his stats to be as good as they are. Frankly, I’m shocked the guy never got a raise over the years, and before anyone goes ranting about how $4 million dollars for a years a work can never be underpaid, let’s also not forget the concept of relative value and how it applies to matters of business and industry. Either way, given everything, it seems like it would be wise for us to make a play for him and sign him to a roughly three or four year deal. Bring him in as something of a Matt Hasselbeck for the defensive line, wherein he can step in and contribute immediately, but with the understanding that at the tail-end of his career, he will be asked to bring along the younger guys as well.
What do you think? Do we make a play for Osi if the Giants will listen? How much should we give up for him? Let yourself be heard!
Follow me on Twitter @TitanSizedJason and e-mail at TitanSizedJason@yahoo.com
Don’t forget to like us on Facebook