Young Giants DE calls it quits

It appears as if Owa Odighizuwa, a promising young defensive end who has struggled to stay healthy and get on the field in his two seasons with the Giants, is walking away from football.

Odighizuwa took to Twitter on Monday to express his intention to take a break. In rough grammatical fashion, he tweeted: “I have all love for everyone .. at the point and time I believe it’s in my best interest to take sometime to get away from the game.’’

If he indeed is leaving the game, it is a shock to the Giants. Team officials saw the news on social media and were in the dark as to the meaning or origin of any potential issues.

Odighizuwa is only 25 years old and although he has not contributed much since arriving as a thirdround draft pick from UCLA in 2015, the Giants had not given up on him. He would have been expected, coming into the 2017 season, to back up starters Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon, marquee players who logged a ton of playing time last season, perhaps too much time.

The Giants’ offseason program begins April 18, when voluntary workouts start at the team facility. There has been no outward sign of any problem with Odighizuwa, who has been in New Jersey working out, which is typical at this time of year.

Odighizuwa played in 14 games in 2016, but mostly was used on special teams, as the coaching staff did not fully trust him as part of the defensive-end rotation. He had only three tackles all season and was overtaken on the depth chart by Romeo Okwara, an undrafted rookie from Notre Dame. It was Okwara who moved into a starting role when Pierre-Paul went down late in the season with an abdominal injury.

As a rookie in 2015, Odighizuwa played in only four games, battling foot and hamstring injuries. He has yet to get a sack in the NFL.