Barry Cofield spent the first five seasons of his career lining up at defensive tackle for the New York Giants. Sunday, for the first time in a regular-season game, Cofield will line up against the Giants. He will be the starting nose tackle for the Washington Redskins when the teams meet to open their 2011 NFL seasons.
“It’s very weird. I’ve never lost contact with those guys. It’s definitely strange," Cofield said. “After the game I’ll hug everybody. Everybody on the roster gets a hug. Leading up to the game and 60 minutes of the game it’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be a fight until the clock strikes zero.”
Cofield signed a six-year, $36-million dollar contract with the Redskins, $12.5 million of which was guaranteed. The Giants had drafted a pair of defensive tackles in the second round the last two seasons — Linval Joseph in 2010 and Marvin Austin this season — and did not want to pay Cofield that kind of money.
Sunday we begin finding out if that is a decision the Giants will regret.