It wasn’t a huge surprise when news broke on Wednesday that New York Giants great Eli Manning would be announcing his retirement. Nor was the reaction from players around the league, many of whom praised Manning as a warrior on the field and a first-class human being off of it.
One of the teammates that was with Eli for both Super Bowl runs was Osi Umenyiora. On Thursday, Umenyiora spoke about his former quarterback’s retirement.
A message to a special friend.
Osi's Ode to Eli.@OsiUmenyiora đź‘Ź @giants pic.twitter.com/Erq1EtwsVc
— NFL UK (@NFLUK) January 23, 2020
Umenyiora went as far to call Manning a “class act, class human being” as well as a “great player, great teammates and great man” during his comments.
“He did everything the right way with that media scrutiny that is the New York Area and so he was a great player, great teammate, great man. He did everything that needed to be done.” Umenyiora added
The New York media can be tough at times. In fact, in the NBA, star players are often criticized for not coming to the Knicks and it is speculated that dealing with the media is a big reason why. Manning wanted to come to New York as he requested a trade when he was drafted by the San Diego Chargers. Manning handled the media like a pro during his career.
Coincidentally, Umenyiora recalled how Manning’s draft day went down and how he and Manning were connected in the trade negotiations.
“Me and him are intertwined because when San Diego was asking for the pick from the New York Giants, San Diego said they wanted me, but the New York Giants refused to trade me for Eli, so me and him have been really cool,” Umenyiora said.
Instead of being swapped in the deal bringing Manning to New York, Manning and Umenyiora ended up winning two Super Bowls together. Umenyiora talked about Manning’s key role in the Super Bowl Runs.
“He was an intricate part of winning those Super Bowls,” Umenyiora said. “Everybody likes to talk about the defensive line and the things that we were able to do, but if he doesn’t make some of those throws and some of those plays in crucial moments there’s no way we’re going to be able to win the Super Bowl. And so the fact that he did that, won two MVPs… Fantastic career, fantastic man.”
Umenyiora’s praise of Manning is no surprise as most of Manning’s former teammates have shown nothing but love for the two-time Super Bowl MVP.
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