The New York Daily News reports that the Giants have cut wide receiver Plaxico Burress. The news comes as a bit of a surprise since the criminal proceedings stemming from his nightclub incident, in which Burress shot himself in the thigh, are still pending, and the team has stood by their receiver for this long. However, Giants GM Jerry Reese apparently felt enough is enough. "I am an optimist, and I believe most situations can be worked out," Reese told the paper. "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."
Last season, Burress started strong for the Giants, with 10 receptions for 133 yards in a Week 1 victory over the Redskins. Although after that, his production didn't live up to his career standards, and he personally had only 35 passes for 454 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games, the mere threat of a deep bomb to Burress was enough to keep opposing defenses honest and helped the Giants' offense cruise along to victory after victory. After the incident in the nightclub, though, he did not catch another pass for the team as he was ultimately suspended for his off-field behavior. One need not look too deeply into the stats to see what kind of effect Burress' absence had on the Giants' passing game, and quarterback Eli Manning, in particular.
Without the legitimate downfield threat, defenses were far more competent in keeping the Giants' offense in check. They lost three of their last four games of the regular season, failing to manage 200 yards of passing in those games. In addition, Manning was sacked 12 times over the four-game stretch, as teams weren't afraid to bring the heat without fear that Amani Toomer, Steve Smith, Sinorice Moss or Domenik Hixon would do significant downfield damage.
With Burress now officially out of the picture and Toomer a free agent, Manning's fantasy value will fall off the cliff, unless the Giants are willing to strike a deal for the likes of Braylon Edwards or Anquan Boldin. Without a top receiver, this is a one-dimensional offense, which will be without change-of-pace back Derrick Ward, who signed with Tampa Bay. Clearly, the team got tired of waiting for Burress' legal issues to work themselves out, but hopefully for Giants fans, they also won't be willing to wait too much longer to rectify this situation. By the time the Giants pick in the upcoming draft (No. 29) the best young receivers (Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin and Percy Harvin) likely will be gone, and at that point, the price of trading for a top-tier receiver may be too steep a price for the team to pay.