New York Giants defensive lineman Owa Odighizuwa isn’t expected to be at the team’s mandatory minicamp. Odighizuwa is tending to personal issues.
The Owa Odighizuwa saga has been one of the more concerning storylines of the 2017 offseason. The New York Giants defensive lineman has insinuated that he considered retirement, and the details to emerge since those comments were made have been minimal.
As the Giants prepare for the team’s mandatory minicamp, it appears as though the situation is still unresolved.
Odighizuwa hinted at retiring from the NFL with a series of mysterious tweets on April 3, 2017. He’s since deleted those tweets and turned his Twitter account to private, although he did follow up by vaguely stating that he’d be returning to New York in 2017.
Unfortunately, Jordan Raanan of ESPN’s NFL Nation is reporting that Odighizuwa isn’t expected to be present when the Giants run their mandatory minicamp.
"New York Giants defensive end Owa Odighizuwa is not expected to attend mandatory minicamp as he continues to attend to personal issues, according to sources. He also missed OTAs."
That’s a troubling development that the organization will need to monitor closely.
It hasn’t yet been disclosed what the personal issues are that Odighizuwa is dealing with. Beyond football, what’s important at this current point in time is that he resolves what’s troubling him and discovers a sense of peace and serenity.
Then, and only then, should he and the organization discuss his future as a professional football player.
From a football perspective, however, Odighizuwa is projected to play a significant role for the Giants during the 2017 season.
New York has one of the most star-studded defensive lines in the NFL with Damon Harrison, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Olivier Vernon. It also drafted defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
True as that may be, depth is of paramount importance in the NFL and Odighizuwa was projected as a player who could help build a sense of it.
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The question is: When will the New York Giants next see Oda Odighizuwa on the field?