Osi Umenyiora

One of Osi Umenyiora's 2.5 sacks last season with the Falcons came against the Giants.

(Robert Deutsch/USA Today Sports)

Soon-to-be free agent defensive end Osi Umenyiora wants to continue playing. He also wants to retire a Giant, and probably wouldn't be opposed to doing both with the team that drafted him in 2003.

Umenyiora, 33, told ESPN he has "zero plans" to retire at this point and there is still something left in that strip-sacking body, which is currently down to 245 pounds. He had 2.5 sacks and didn't start a game for the pass-rush-challenged Atlanta Falcons last season.

As free agency nears, Umenyiora expects to receive a look from the Falcons, but the Giants probably would be high on his wish list as well. He spent the first nine years of his career as a pass-rusher in Big Blue's defense, recording three double-digit sack seasons. The Giants won two Super Bowls during his time with the team.

"It was nearly a third of my life that I was there in New York, and I did a lot of good things there," Umenyiora said. "As a team, we won some Super Bowls. I was able to go to a couple of Pro Bowls and be like an All-Pro player over there. Unless I'm able to do that somewhere else -- which I don't know how likely that is -- then it would only make sense, whenever it is that I retire.

"I'm not going to play another 10 years. I'm not going to play another three years. Whenever it is that I retire, I think it would only make sense for me to do that as a Giant."

Retire a Giant doesn't necessarily mean he has every intention of playing for the Giants in his final season(s). It's entirely possible the Giants don't think signing Umenyiora is the right move as they try to rebuild themselves into a playoff team.

They already allowed Umenyiora to walk in 2011 and let veteran defensive end Justin Tuck leave last offseason. They may not want a 33-year-old defensive end nearing the end of his career to return.

The Giants are expected to have defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul (assuming he's back under the franchise tag or with a long-term contract), Damontre Moore, Robert Ayers and Kerry Wynn on the roster next season. They could use at least one more veteran at the position.

Despite some contentious negotiations in the past, Umenyiora insisted before the Giants beat the Falcons in Week 5 there was no bad blood with the organization. That could work in his benefit as he enters free agency.

"I left New York in a great relationship with everybody, from the owners to the general manager to the coaches to the players," Umenyiora said last year. "I still have a really great relationship with everybody there."

Will it lead to reunion? If it were up to Umenyiora, probably. But it needs to be a two-way street. It remains to be seen if the Giants are ready to travel in that direction.

Umenyiora becomes a free agent on March 10. He's just one year removed from a 7.5-sack season in his first season in Atlanta, and still thinks there is something left in the tank.

"I think I'll know exactly when the time [to retire] is right," said Umenyiora, who reportedly has a media offer on the table in his native London. "When you're physically not able to play anymore, you've got to be honest with yourself. You have to watch tape and study yourself from when you had good years, when you had not-so-good years. You have to look at your explosion, how you're playing the game; if you still want to practice. And you have to have enough pride that you're not going to go out there and embarrass yourself. You don't want to go out there and look like a fool.

"I think the league will let you know when you're done. Ain't no charity cases being handed out. Either they feel like you can help them or that's it for you. If you're unable to play, they'll tell you because you're not going to have a job."

Jordan Raanan may be reached at jraanan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JordanRaanan. Find NJ.com Giants on Facebook.