Justin Tuck tried to walk the line between company man and football player/friend of Osi Umenyiora. In the end, though, Tuck appears to come down on the side of Umenyiora in New York's longest-running off-Broadway show -- Umenyiora's contract squabble with the New York Giants.
"It's hard," Tuck said on ROME, a show on the CBS Sports Network. "He's signed a contract and I believe in abiding by that contract, but also I think he's outplayed that contract in today's market. And how some of these defensive ends are getting paid lots of money, I think he deserves to get paid."
Umenyiora has, of course, complained for years that his seven-year, $41.3-million deal leaves him underpaid. He is now entering the final year of that deal.
It can't be a surprise that Tuck -- or any player -- would say Umenyiora deserves to get paid. Collecting $41.3 million over seven years is not shabby in any line of work, however. Definitely not shabby enough to merit the amount of complaining Umenyiora has done over the years.
Umenyiora currently remains the only player not attending Giants OTAs.