Report: Osi Umenyiora expected to join the Atlanta Falcons by Monday

With the next few days, fee agent defensive end Osi Umenyiora is expected to agree to terms with the Atlanta Falcons, reports Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.

According to Florio, the deal is expected by Monday "at the latest".

The Falcons were looking for pass-rush help after releasing veteran John Abraham this offseason. Abraham led the Falcons with 10 sacks and had six forced fumbles in 2012, accounting for over one-third of the team's sack production last season. Abraham, who turns 35 in May, had triggered a $1 million escalator to his base salary, which may have been what triggered his release on March 1..

Umenyiora tweaked his contract prior to the 2012 season, receiving a pay increase and, more importantly, the opportunity to become a free agent this offseason. The 31-year-old lives in Atlanta and has not his desire to play for the Falcons.

"There was nothing better than being able to win there [in New York]," Umenyiora said during a Friday appearance on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta, according to ESPN New York. "The only thing I can think of, for myself personally, [better] than being able to win in New York would be if I was able to win here at home in Atlanta. So we’ll see how that plays out. Hopefully, it will work out in a positive direction."

Umenyiora, 31, has spent his entire 10-year career with the New York Giants, who selected the Troy product in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft. In 129 career games with the Giants, Umenyiora has 75 sacks and 32 forced fumbles, posting double-digit sacks in 2005, 2007 and 2010. Umenyiora was named to the Pro Bowl after the 2005 and 2007 seasons, and was a second-team All-Pro in 2010.

Since the midpoint of the 2011 season, the 6-foot-2, 255-pound Umenyiora has gone from a full-time starter on the Giants' defensive line to the third defensive end rotating with Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul. Tuck started seven of nine games in 2011, posting an impressive nine sacks, while adding another 3.5 sacks off the bench in the Giants' run towards a win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.

Umenyiora started four of 16 games during a 2012 season where he posted six sacks while playing in just over 60 percent of the Giants' defensive snaps.