Do the New York Giants still need Osi Umenyiora?

So Osi Umenyiora has stated that he will be at practice tomorrow, and that he will actually practice. This ends his holdout, which was never really a hold out. There are some reports that the New York Giants offered to sweeten his deal, by adding performance clauses, but apparently Osi turned them all down. What that says to me is Osi has something else up his sleeve, but I really got to wonder if the Giants even need this headache. I wonder if they should jut not work to trade him, and get rid of a possible distraction.

I saw Jason Pierre-Paul have a very dominating game against a Pro Bowl Tackle in Jordan Gross. Sure, this was the first week of pre-season but Paul did an excellent job, and I think Giants fans would be very comfortable with Paul and Justin Tuck as their two starting defensive ends. Let us not forget they still have Mathias Kiwanuka who was lost last year to a herniated disk. He might be something of a question mark, but Paul and Tuck look to be the real deal right now.

With that in mind I can understand why the Giants have been reluctant to give Osi a new deal, but not why did they not allow him to pursue a trade.? There are other needs on this club, and trading Umenyiora could help fill one of those needs, or secure extra draft picks for the team. Sure he had 12 sacks last year, but pass rushers are in abundance on the Giants roster and maybe the time has come to simply part ways with a guy that probably does not fit into the long term plan for the Giants.

Sure, taking 12 sacks off the stat line could hurt, but with a young 2010 first round pick apparently ready to come in and contribute it seems trading Osi would be far more preferable than letting a distraction hang around all year.

Related Links:

•New York Giants news and notes
•Joshua Lobdell.com