Michael Strahan Is Definitely Retiring ... Unless He Returns for One More Season - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

With Brett Favre out of football for the moment, Michael Strahan has emerged as the next future Hall of Famer to annually contemplate retirement. Last week, it looked like Strahan was set to leave the NFL for the teevees, but now that seems less certain. Or more specifically, Strahan's plans are more nebulous.

"I'll be honest with you, I pretty much know what I'm going to do right now," Strahan said Wednesday night ... "But you know what the thing is? If I say it, I can't change my mind. So I would rather wait until I know I'm 100% sure that when I say what I'm going to do, I'm going to do it."

It's hard to argue with that reasoning, and since it's May, there's no urgency to the decision. And unlike, say, the Ravens, who might've benefited from knowing Jonathan Ogden's retirement plans back in April so they could adjust their draft board accordingly, the Giants are pretty well stocked along the defensive line.

That's not to say Strahan won't be missed, just that his loss won't have the same effect as Odgen's loss would have for the Ravens' already suspect offense.

Interestingly, Strahan, a 16-year veteran, is still playing at a very high level -- just like Favre when he retired earlier this spring. Typically, it's at this point in the career that organizations are gently trying to force guys into retirement (before unceremoniously releasing them).

Before getting too far ahead of ourselves, there's still the possibility Strahan returns. He's due $4 million in 2008 (and the team is apparently willing to give him a little more), and he's proven he doesn't need training camp to be ready for the regular season. Of course, working as an NFL analyst doesn't require any physical preparation, just the mental toughness that goes along with possibly having to work with Joe Buck.