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The New York Giants released Burress a little more than four months after the moron accidentally shot himself in the leg with an unlicensed gun in a New York City nightclub.

Giants GM Jerry Reese had this to say; “We hung in there as long as we could in hopes that there could be a resolution to this situation other than the decision we made today to release Plaxico.  It wasn’t to be, so now we have to move on. Like everybody else here, we want nothing but the best for Plaxico, and we are appreciative of the contributions he made to this franchise.”

Burress’ status has been up in the air since he shot himself in the thigh on Nov. 29 with a gun he’d stuffed into his waistband.  He faces a felony weapons charge that could put him in prison for at least 3 1/2 years if convicted and it’s my opinion that these impending charges are exactly why the Giants can’t get a deal done.

While the delay in the court proceedings appear to have influenced the Giants, it wasn’t the only factor.  His track record of idiotic mistakes could also have influenced them.  Burress, who was suspended by the Giants for the final four weeks of the season for conduct detrimental to the team and fined after the shooting, also faces possible NFL sanctions for violating its personal conduct policy.

The decision to release Burress might lead the Giants to look for a deep threat receiver in the draft later this month. New York has 10 draft picks this year, including the 29th pick overall.  The only player currently on the roster who might fill that deep role is Mario Manningham, a second-year player out of Michigan who did little in an injury-plagued rookie season.  Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon have shown the ability to be a deep threat on occasion, but neither is as consistent as Burress at stretching a defense.

The Giants had been in conversations with the Cleveland Browns recently about a trade for veteran receiver Braylon Edwards.   Rumor has it that the Browns were ready to send Edwards over to New York in a deal that included Steve Smith but the Giants would not let go of the former USC Trojan and countered with an offer that included Manningham instead.  Talks might heat back up, now that the Giants have no proven receiver on the roster.  It’s safe to begin downgrading all Giants skill position players until New York gets some legit help for Eli Manning.