Osi Umenyiora’s teammates on the Giants defense are showing him some support in his long battle with the Giants about a new contract.
Defensive end Justin Tuck did an interview with Jim Rome on Tuesday and said that he thinks Umenyiora “deserves to get paid,” but said that he also understands the Giants’ point of view when it comes to not giving Umenyiora a new contract. Linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka went a little bit further in comments on Wednesday.
Kiwanuka signed a three-year extension with the Giants earlier this offseason, something that sparked a strong reaction from Umenyiora because he claims Kiwanuka got more guaranteed money.
“He’s been under contract in a bad deal for years now,” Kiwanuka said, via Jorge Castillo of the Newark Star-Ledger. “Anybody who looks at the situation would say, ‘Well, this should’ve been taken care of a long time ago.’ For whatever reason it hasn’t so I understand his frustration. I know that it wasn’t a slight at me. I know he was just trying to get his point across.”
Nothing Kiwanuka or Tuck have to say seems to be swaying the Giants much. Sal Paolantoinio of ESPN reported Wednesday that the two sides remain “very far apart” in their discussions about a new deal. Umenyiora has not joined the Giants for offseason workouts and his intentions for June’s mandatory minicamp aren’t known. He staged a brief holdout last summer before eventually reporting to camp in time to join the team for their Super Bowl run.