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The Giants have a new offensive tackle, thanks in part to Osi Umenyiora’s involvement in the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.
Roy Mbaeteka, a 6-foot-9, 320-pound lineman, was signed on Friday from that program, with the Giants hoping they can develop him into an NFL player over time.
Umenyiora, 40, was born in London to Nigerian parents and went on to become a two-time Super Bowl champion, one of the best pass rushers in Giants history and a member of the franchise’s Ring of Honor.
Umenyiora, one of the founders of NFL Africa, first became aware of Mbaeteka in 2021 during a football camp in Nigeria. Mbaeteka was one of three players selected out of that camp to train at the NFL Academy in London. Then, he was one of 13 players picked to compete in the 2022 International Player Pathway Program and traveled to Arizona to train with former NFL center LeCharles Bentley.
“Once you see him, you know he’s physically imposing and in a year or two if you immerse him in football culture, he’s going to be fantastic,” Umenyiora told the Giants website.
On the scene at an NFL showcase in Arizona for international players, Giants scout Jeremy Breit was impressed with Mbaeteka. The team flew him into New Jersey on Thursday and signed him a day later.
“A lot of people think this was me, but I had nothing to do with this,’’ Umenyiora said. “The Giants decided they were going to fly him in. They did this on their own. For it to be the Giants of all teams, it means the world to me, it really does.’’
Umenyiora is a champion of the International Player Pathway Program, which has produced NFL talent, such as tackle Jordan Mailata, a Samoan Australian former rugby player who has been a revelation for the Eagles.
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