EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — A Giants defensive end announced that his holdout was over and that he was looking forward to getting back on the field on Saturday.
No, not that Giants defensive end.
“I’ve ended my holdout,” Dave Tollefson joked, speaking at Giants team headquarters while wearing a Pete Maravich throwback basketball jersey. Tollefson, a backup defensive end and special-teams standout, was not really holding out: he was a free agent who signed a one-year contract on Saturday.
There were no new developments on the Osi Umenyiora front, unless you count the signing of Tollefson, who plays the same position. Coach Tom Coughlin said there was nothing new to report about Umenyiora, who is seeking a trade or a new contract and has been sitting out practices with what is described as a sore ankle. Justin Tuck said that he endorsed the Tollefson signing but had little to say about his disgruntled teammate.
“We don’t talk about Osi,” Tuck said of his discussions with coaches and management. “If they ask me about Osi, I will give them an honest opinion.”
Which is?
“Which is what I will tell them if they ask me that.”
Tollefson said he was comfortable being back with the Giants; he has played 46 games for the team in four seasons, recording five sacks. Teammates welcomed him back.
“These are some of the best friends I have,” he said. He was content to sign a one-year contract, noting that he has played under one-year deals for his entire career. “Guys like me, you got to know your role,” he said.
Despite the timing of his arrival, Tollefson did not feel that he was part of some Osi-related roster strategy.
“You could argue that if they brought someone else in,” he said. “But I’m just Dave, man.”
Coughlin agreed with that assessment in his new conference.
“Dave is Dave,” he said.
And Dave is not Osi.
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