Giants DE Strahan retires

Published 10:47 pm Monday, June 9, 2008

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Any of the people Michael Strahan reached out to Monday morning — New York Giants management, players, owners and coaches — must have known what was up when they saw their caller ID or the sender of the text message.

This is it, they undoubtedly thought.

The defensive end had been mulling retirement ever since the Super Bowl — since last summer, really — but the 36-year-old’s announcement that he’ll hang ‘em up still caught many off guard. The news was made public early in the day in a report by Foxsports.com in which the unsubtle Strahan subtly stated: “It’s time. I’m done.”

Strahan said he wanted to make his decision before this week’s minicamp so the players and organization could move forward. He was due to earn $4 million in 2008, and according to sources, the Giants were willing to increase that total to about $6.5 million. But Strahan, who almost certainly will find a lucrative career in a broadcast booth or studio this fall, walked away.

Newsday reported last month that Strahan likely would return if the Giants paid him $8 million per season, or roughly the salary of Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor. “Money was never the issue for him,” said Tony Agnone, Strahan’s agent.

The announcement came so suddenly that the Giants barely had time to absorb it Monday morning. Coach Tom Coughlin had to be told of the development while leaving the field from Monday’s OTA; a voice mail apparently was waiting for him in his office. Several players returned from the voluntary workout to find text messages waiting for them or were pulled aside by team staffers with the news.

Those who did not receive firsthand evidence seemed hesitant to digest the decision.

“I have to see it to believe it,” said wide receiver Amani Toomer, a teammate of Strahan’s for 12 years. Others speculated that it wouldn’t be beyond Strahan to turn up on a football field in September.

“Who knows, maybe we can go through a Brett Favre thing with, Is he coming, is he going?”’ defensive lineman Justin Tuck said. “We’ll see.”

Tuck added that he wasn’t surprised by the retirement but by the delivery. “Stra looks like he’s more of a news conference guy, have the whole world watching as he reports it himself,” Tuck said.

That news conference will take place Tuesday morning at Giants Stadium.

Strahan leaves the Giants as one of the most dominant players in team history and a certain Hall of Famer. He is the latest link in a defensive chain that has run through the franchise, from Sam Huff to Lawrence Taylor to Strahan.

In 15 years, he accumulated 141 1/2 career sacks and set an NFL record with 22 1/2 sacks in 2001. Many consider Strahan the most well-rounded defensive end in history, a complete package of pass-rusher and run-stuffer.

“He’s definitely the type of person we all aspire to have careers like,” Tuck said. “He definitely set the precedent as far as modern-day defensive ends on how to play the game.”

Tuck is the player likely to replace Strahan in the starting lineup. The Giants also might consider shifting former defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, who moved to linebacker last season, back to the line.

“We’re going to get it done,” Kiwanuka said of replacing Strahan. “We know we’re going to have players who can step up. I don’t think one person is going to completely fill his shoes, but I think as a group, we’ll get it done.”

Strahan skipped last season’s training camp while he first considered retirement but returned to the team five days before the season opener. He was instrumental in the Giants’ Super Bowl run, made a sack in the win over the New England Patriots and relished his role as a champion in the ensuing days, weeks and months.

Several players said retiring after the Super Bowl victory made perfect sense, but at least one teammate wasn’t satisfied.

“He doesn’t have that much more to prove, but I always tell him you have to defend it,” Toomer said. “You can’t be the guy who takes his ball and goes home after he’s won a couple of games in one-on-one basketball.”

Sorry, Amani. Game over.

Distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service