Quote:
Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule
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April 3, 2009
Giants cut Plaxico Burress
Updated: 3:44 p.m.
The Giants spent the past four months insisting they would stand beside the troubled Plaxico Burress. Today, they decide to let him stand alone.
In a shocking, final twist to the four-month-long soap opera, the Giants announced today that they have released the troubled receiver who famously shot himself in the thigh on Nov. 29. Just three days after he showed up in a Manhattan court to ask for a delay in his court case, the Giants announced they won’t wait to see how it all turns out.
“I am an optimist, and I believe most situations can be worked out,” Giants GM Jerry Reese said in a statement released by the Giants. “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.”
It’s not at all clear why the Giants had a sudden and dramatic change of heart. Reese has insisted many, many times that the Giants would be willing to bring the 31-year-old receiver back. And just two weeks ago he insisted that everyone in the organization was “on board” with that possibility, even though the team’s co-owners and Tom Coughlin had notably not said the same thing publicly.
Coughlin had said he needed to give Burress’ situation more thought before he made any decision. His lone statement today said nothing about why Burress was no longer welcome on his team.
“Plaxico’s contribution to our championship season in 2007 can never be underestimated or undervalued,” Coughlin said in the team‘s press release. “He displayed tremendous determination throughout that season. Having said that, I have always been as concerned about Plaxico as a man as I have been about him as a player, and my hope is that everything that has happened over the past several months represents a turning point. He is a young man with a family who has a whole lifetime ahead of him, and I personally wish him and his family well.”
There was never a guarantee, of course, that Burress would even be eligible to play for the Giants again. He’s facing two felony counts of criminal possession of a loaded and unlicensed weapon, stemming from the late-November shooting at The Latin Quarter. That crime carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 3 ½ years in prison, and so far, according to sources familiar with the case, the Manhattan District Attorney has not been willing to accept any plea deal that doesn’t at least include some jail time.
With Burress not due back in court until June 15, any jail time would likely take him through training camp and possibly into the 2009 season. He’s also facing a likely suspension from the NFL for violating the league’s Personal Conduct Policy.
Burress also is involved in a nasty arbitration fight over the terms of his contract. On Wednesday, lawyers representing the NFL Players Association argued on his behalf in front of a Special Master over the Giants’ decision to withhold the final, $1 million payment of his $4.5 million signing bonus. Also at that hearing, the Giants argued that Burress’ behavior has caused him to forfeit all future bonuses and escalators in his deal.
Pending that decision — which the Special Master promised to deliver by Wednesday — Burress stands to lose as much as $27 million of the five-year, $35 million contract he signed in September. He also lost $2 million in fines and lost wages from the punishment he received from the Giants after his shooting. The NFLPA has called that “excessive” and filed a grievance which is scheduled to be heard by a Special Master in June.
Burress’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Burress leaves the Giants with a very mixed legacy. The talented receiver will always be remembered for catching the game-winning touchdown pass in the Giants’ thrilling win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. He also helped get them to that game with a thrilling, 11-catch, 151-yard performance in frigid conditions in Green Bay in the NFC championship game.
But almost from the moment he signed with the team on March 17, 2005, Burress has been a thorn in the side of Coughlin. He began breaking team rules almost immediately, and was even benched for the first quarter of his third game with the team for twice arriving late to a team meeting. In his four years with the Giants he accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and was twice suspended by the club for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
Without him, though, the Giants are extremely short-handed at receiver. They had brief trade talks in late February with the Cleveland Browns regarding receiver Braylon Edwards, but those talks did not appear to go anywhere. They also have an interest in Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin, though it’s not clear if the Cards are willing to trade him.
Most likely, the Giants will have to select a receiver in the first or second round of the upcoming NFL draft.
As for Burress, his NFL career is obviously on hold, pending the outcome of his legal situation.
“Like everybody else here, we want nothing but the best for Plaxico,” Reese said. “And we are appreciative of the contributions he made to this franchise.”