Reports: Strahan would consider returning, Giants open to idea

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Sicc OG
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Jul 18, 2005
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Former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan would consider returning to the team in the wake of Osi Umenyiora's season-ending knee injury, the New York Daily News has reported, citing an unnamed source.

According to the paper, Strahan, 36, who retired in the offseason after helping lead the Giants to a Super Bowl championship, would come back with the Giants if offered an $8 million contract for this season, according to a source close to the seven-time Pro Bowler.

If the Giants make a sincere overture, it's a good chance that Strahan would consider coming back," the source said, according to the Daily News. "There are other things he has to take into consideration: the money and his contract with Fox."

Strahan currently holds a position at Fox Sports as an NFL studio analyst.


"But if the Giants really want him, they have a shot," the source said. "It's not out of the question."

The Giants appear open to the idea.

Co-owner Steve Tisch told the New York Post the Giants have warmed to Strahan returning.

"Would I like Michael to be a New York Giant this season? Absolutely. Absolutely," Tisch told the Post. "Will he be? I have no idea. I don't even want to put a percentage on it but things changed very quickly [Saturday] night and if one of the potential solutions is to reach out to Michael, worst-case, it's certainly worth a phone call.''

Strahan was in Greece on vacation Sunday when he heard the extent of Umenyiora's injury, the Daily News reported.


Strahan wouldn't confirm the possibility of returning in an interview with the NFL Network.

"I haven't heard from anybody else, so to say if I would or wouldn't is premature," Strahan said. "So I'm enjoying my retired life right now."

Coach Tom Coughlin said the team is considering all its options.
Strahan retired in June, ending a 15-year career highlighted by the Giants' stunning Super Bowl victory over the unbeaten New England Patriots.

Coughlin recently talked with Strahan about his new career working on Fox's pregame NFL show on Sundays.

"The only thing I talked with Michael about was his new challenge, moving forward in his new assignment and he was very excited about that," Coughlin said, according to The Associated Press.


Agent Tony Agnone said the Giants have not contacted him to ask about Strahan.

"Obviously, he loves the Giants and obviously he is working for Fox," Agnone said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "Right now he is relaxing and getting ready for his Fox gig."

Strahan missed all of training camp last season while mulling retirement. He reported to the team a little more than a week before the season opener and played well.

However, he trained while thinking about retirement last year and was in good shape.

The Giants open the season on Sept. 4 against the Washington Redskins.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3552159
 
T-Rip

T-Rip

T Camp
#7
Jan 18, 2006
14,367
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#7
yep its official, the Giants are fucked this year

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3554776

Strahan decides to stay retired, not return to Giants

Strahan Turns Down Giants, Will Remain Retired

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Michael Strahan is staying retired, although his agent said that the seven-time Pro Bowler seriously considered returning to the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

"He was very close to returning, but the great part about Michael is that he takes his time to think about things and he is very thorough," Tony Agnone said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday night. "You can get excited about coming back and running through the tunnel one more time."

Agnone said that Strahan struggled deciding whether he could give 100 percent mentally.

"In the end, he felt he could not get back to where he was," Agnone said.

The first report of the news was provided by FoxSports.com, which contacted Strahan in Greece where he was vacationing.

"This has been one of the toughest nights of my life," Strahan told FoxSports.com. "But after long deliberation and throwing around a million scenarios in my head for the past day, I think it's just best if I stay retired."

Giants general manager Jerry Reese has asked the 36-year-old Strahan to reconsider his retirement on Monday, just 48 hours after the Super Bowl champions lost Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora for the season to a knee injury in the preseason game against the New York Jets.

Strahan needed just about a day to turn down an offer to return for a 16th season with what could have been an $8 million contract.

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"I really love my life now," Strahan said. "It's great having nobody put a finger on me. You really put yourself through an awful lot in this league, more than people realize.

Agnone said money was never an issue.

"We know the parameters of the contract and the Giants would have been generous," Agnone said.

Reese did not seem surprised by the decision.

"We knew it was a long shot, but we owed it to ourselves to exhaust the possibility," Reese said late Tuesday evening. "We appreciate Michael even considering ending his retirement. He has a new career in front of him and we wish him nothing but the best. As we all said when he announced his retirement, Michael was and is a great Giant."

The Giants moved Mathias Kiwanuka from linebacker to defensive end on Monday to take over for Umenyiora, who had successful knee surgery on Tuesday morning and was placed on season-ending injured reserve.

The move will not be a major one for Kiwanuka. He was drafted in the first round in 2006 as a defensive end and started nine games as a rookie. He also lined up as a defensive end in third-down situations last season.

"There is a reason he went in the first round obviously," middle linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "The guy, he is playing behind Strahan and Osi, and then we moved him to linebacker, so obviously he is one of our top players on the team and he is going to show that he is a top defensive end in the league."

Pierce also said the team was ready to move on with or without Strahan, the team's sacks leader who retired in June, four months after earning his first title ring.

"We know we are a confident team and we are a playoff-capable team and we have to go out and perform like it," Pierce said before Strahan announced his decision. "The reason we took the [underdog] role last year was because everybody said it, and we just went with it. We're not thinking like that this year. We do have a chip on our shoulders and it grows more and more when somebody gives us something to feed off of."

What's bugging them now is the belief by some that they don't have the players to get the job done with Umenyiora out.

Pierce never thought that money would be the deciding issue for Strahan.

"The only reason he will come back is if he wants to play," Pierce said.

Obviously, Strahan did not want to play.

Strahan has signed a $2 million deal to work for Fox Sports on its NFL pregame show on Sundays.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
 
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