We don’t traffic in rumors as much as we used to, even though these stories appear in a file known as a “Rumor Mill” (go figure). Instead, we now try to chase the rumors down and corroborate or debunk them. So that they can be presented as hard news. And thus “confirmed” (and ignored) by some of the various other news outlets that we routinely credit, even though we could do the same thing.
And so, for old time’s sake, here’s a rumor that will get the New York media chasing this one down for the purposes of corroborating or debunking it.
There’s talk in some circles that Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora soon will be getting his much-desired new deal. It’s possible that the scuttlebutt traces to the fact that Umenyiora is returning to practice without a new deal already in place. Unless he has undergone a dramatic change of heart, he wouldn’t cave without getting something from the team -- especially since he declined the team’s offer to enhance the last two years of his current contract.
We’re not reporting that it will or won’t happen. But there definitely is a rumor on the NFL grapevine that something could be coming.