Motivated by the moment, the future and “my little brother”

EAST RUTHERFORD – Azeez Olujari doesn’t have to dig deep to find motivation right now.

He's playing for a contract, whether it comes from the New York Giants or elsewhere, and his next opportunity likely depends on how he performs on that contract.

There is a competitive trend that Ojulari reveals with each passing week. The longer he stays healthy and productive on the field, the further he can push his injury-prone reputation into the past.

All of that remains top of mind for Ojulari, who enters Sunday's game against Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders with six sacks, five since becoming a starter when Kayvon Thibodeaux suffered a wrist injury that required surgery three games ago.

Perhaps Ojulari's greatest inspiration is his daily conversations with his younger brother BJ, the Arizona Cardinals' second-year defensive end. BJ Ojulari, two years younger than Azeez, is out for the season after tearing his ACL this summer, and that perspective is something that is driving Azeez to make the most of his opportunities.

“I know how much he wants to be out there and he can’t be out there,” Azeez told NorthJersey.com at his locker after practice on Wednesday. “Every moment you can play, every opportunity you get in this game, you never know when it will be missed again. What happened to my brother gives me even more of a reason to take advantage of this and play the best I can for this team, for me and for him (BJ).”

Azeez Ojulari has run the gamut of emotions and expectations with the New York Giants.

Not long ago, he was touted as a second-round steal in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Then he was a pass rusher whose explosive talent was mentioned in the same conversations as Osi Umenyiora, someone he idolized. And of course, injury-plagued seasons over the past two years have resulted in Ojulari being pushed into the background in the Giants' defense.

Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns are the headliners. Thibodeaux was on the rise in his third year before getting injured. Bobby Okereke is the glue. Tae Banks has received a lot of attention, good and (lately) bad. Rookie defensemen Tyler Nubin and Dru Phillips are already potential cornerstones.

Azeez promised he was ready to take on the new challenge that would come his way, and the mission was relatively simple in process, complicated in execution: Find a way to force the Giants to put him on the field. He initially played a good supporting role, but when Thibodeaux was injured in the Giants' last win in Seattle, Azeez's role changed.

“I don’t think anyone has forgotten what I can do,” Ojulari said this summer. “I have to be able to get on the field and stay there. If I'm healthy, I think they know what I can do. I know what I can do. If I have to remind someone, it's on me.” . And that’s what I’m going to do.”

Playing for the present and the future

Richard Morgan has been the varsity football coach at Marietta High School in Georgia for eight years and still marvels at the way Azeez and BJ Ojulari dominated his team's games.

And during that one season, when the Ojulari brothers were together on the Marietta defense, Morgan laughed at the challenge the opponents faced when Azeez, then a senior, was ready to attack the quarterback from one side, while his younger brother BJ, a sophomore, was ready to do the same from the other.

“You know, they're not twins, but they were as identical as you can be, and they were both the most dominant players on the field,” Morgan said in an interview with NorthJersey.com in 2023. “They were both Team captains and quiet leaders. Even in the weight room, they share the school record for power clean, 340 pounds. And when they played on the same defense – one on one side, one on the other – I'm not sure I'll ever see anything like that down here again.

Azeez Ojulari has quick and powerful hands and he has continued to learn to use his skills to beat blockers on both sides. He has shown enough athletic ability to excel as a two-way player in coverage and not be a hindrance to the run, although his true value lies in being a pass rusher. The speed of the game tested Ojulari's focus on technique and fundamentals, and just when everything seemed to be falling into place over the last two seasons, injury fever broke out.

Now that he's healthy and productive and the NFL's Nov. 5 trade deadline is approaching, there has been speculation about Ojulari and whether the Giants would try to trade him. When asked if he would consider discussing an extension with the Giants if they broached the subject, Ojulari said he loves being here as part of this defense.

Beyond that, he'd rather continue to focus on putting pressure on Daniels and the Commanders to see if he can join Lawrence, Burns and the others in defusing the NFC East leaders' upset for the Giants' first win over MetLife stadium this season.

“I’m just here every day working,” Ojulari said. “Whatever happens, happens, but it’s out of my control. I'm just ready to keep working here. I love it here. Ready to keep working. I'm just doing my thing and I'm happy to be part of a great group of guys with Dex, Burns – you want to play with and for these guys and that's what I'm going to do.

Playing for the present and the future

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