PRO FOOTBALL
Sack Specialist Strahan Says So Long to The Giants
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Four months after helping the New York Giants to an improbable Super Bowl triumph, defensive end Michael Strahan walked away from his 15-year NFL career yesterday by announcing his retirement.
Strahan, 36, informed the Giants that he planned to retire, then revealed his decision to media outlets. He told Fox Sports that he wanted to make his announcement before the defending Super Bowl champions open a minicamp that is scheduled to begin tomorrow.
"It was important that my teammates knew which way I was going before they got on the field to start the work to defend our title," Strahan said, according to the network's Web site. "It's time. I'm done."
Strahan considered retirement last offseason but reported to the Giants at the end of the preseason and helped them win a Super Bowl title with an upset of the previously unbeaten New England Patriots.
Strahan played all 15 seasons for the Giants and amassed 141 1/2 sacks, including a single-season league-record 22 1/2 in 2001. The seven-time Pro Bowl selection, barring a change of heart, would finish his career fifth on the league's career sacks list behind Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Kevin Greene and Chris Doleman. Strahan had nine sacks last season.
There had been talk that the Giants might be able to persuade Strahan to play next season if they offered to double his $4 million salary, but a source familiar with the deliberations said the club did not offer a raise that significant.
He always has been among the sport's most eloquent and marketable players and is expected to follow former teammate Tiki Barber into television.
The Giants, however, remain well stocked at defensive end. They have Osi Umenyiora, who started at the end opposite Strahan, and now could move Justin Tuck into the lineup more regularly.
NFL Note: The Chicago Bears waived tailback Cedric Benson, who was arrested twice on alcohol-related charges in recent weeks. Benson, a former first-round draft choice, was arrested last weekend in Texas on a drunk driving charge. That incident came just more than a month after he was charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest. Benson and his representatives have denied the charges in both incidents.
-- Mark Maske
