Defensive ends are gaining a lot of attention in this year's free agent market, yet no one has signed yet. Big names like Dwight Freeney and John Abraham are the marquee players left to sign, but there are still other quality players that teams could get for less money. Osi Umenyiora is still left waiting to sign with a team. While the money for defensive ends is small, the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins are reportedly showing interest in the veteran.
Umenyiora has registered 75 career sacks and won two Super Bowls during his nine-year run with the New York Giants. While his career numbers are impressive, his recent stats show a decline in production. The 31-year old is coming off a season where he only tallied six sacks, his lowest number since 2006. He also only had 43 combined tackles, two forced fumbles and one pass deflection. Those are not exactly compelling numbers that grab team's attention.
The Detroit Lions claim they are done making major moves this offseason and are now focusing on the NFL draft, however signing Umenyiora can hardly be considered a major move. The team has a big whole to fill on defense after losing Cliff Avril to the Seattle Seahawks. They did sign free agent Jason Jones, but he is more of an interior player where Umenyiora can play the edge. The Lions draft early and could be compelled to just get a big named player like Georgia's Jarvis Jones in the first round to fill the defensive end need. However, Umenyiora could step in and start right away.
The Miami Dolphins are another team that are claiming they are "probably done" making big moves this offseason. They have signed several marquee players to large contracts and do not have much cap space to sign anyone else. However they could get him for cheap and use him as a reserve like the Giants were.
There is still the possibility that Umenyiora could re-sign with the Giants. The team could see what the interest level is on the defensive end and then bring him back for a small contract. He seems destined at this point to have to take less money than he is used to, but the market for the position is weak and not too many teams are biting. With a lot of talent on defense in the draft, Umenyiora would be wise to take whatever contract is placed in front of him first.
