Giants cut Burress amid gun caseComment Email Print Share ESPN.com news services
NEW YORK -- The New York Giants have released wide receiver Plaxico Burress, the team announced Friday, three days after a gun possession case against Burress in New York had been adjourned until June.
Burress
The Giants fined and suspended Burress for the final four games of last season. The team also had placed him on the reserve non-football injury list, which made him ineligble for the Giants' one playoff game, a 23-11 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
After accidentally shooting himself in a Manhattan night club last Nov. 29, Burress was arraigned Dec. 1 on two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a loaded and unlicensed weapon, a Glock semi-automatic pistol, which is a felony and carries a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 3½ years.
Burress' attorney has been in talks with the Manhattan district attorney's office for months, trying to get charges against Burress resolved so he could avoid a lengthy trial with the goal of returning to the NFL in time for the 2009 season.
NFL.com Video
The latest on Plaxico Burress' scheduled court appearance and future in the NFL.
A witness told police that Burress was sitting near the V.I.P. area of the club holding a drink in his left hand and fidgeting with his right hand in the area of the waistline of his pants. The witness then heard a single "pop" sound before hearing Burress say, "Take me to the hospital."
Burress was on the ground, with his legs shaking, when a bloody gun -- a .40-caliber Glock -- fell out of his pantleg and onto the floor, according to the complaint. Sometime later, Burress, who does not have a permit to carry a handgun in New York City, was treated and released at a hospital before returning to his New Jersey home.
At the time, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg lashed out at Burress for carrying an illegal handgun. He also criticized New York Presbyterian Hospital for failing to inform the police about Burress' gun-related injury, as city law requires. And he questioned the motives of the Giants, who also neglected to notify the authorities.
Burress caught the go-ahead touchdown pass in the Giants' 2008 Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots, following a regular season in which he scored a career-high 12 TDs.
He was rewarded with a $35 million, five-year contract, only hours before the 2009 season began.
Burress had 35 catches for 454 yards and four touchdowns while constantly drawing double coverage last season before his suspension.
Information from The Associated Press and ESPN's Sal Paolantonio was used in this report.
NEW YORK -- The New York Giants have released wide receiver Plaxico Burress, the team announced Friday, three days after a gun possession case against Burress in New York had been adjourned until June.
Burress
The Giants fined and suspended Burress for the final four games of last season. The team also had placed him on the reserve non-football injury list, which made him ineligble for the Giants' one playoff game, a 23-11 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
After accidentally shooting himself in a Manhattan night club last Nov. 29, Burress was arraigned Dec. 1 on two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a loaded and unlicensed weapon, a Glock semi-automatic pistol, which is a felony and carries a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 3½ years.
Burress' attorney has been in talks with the Manhattan district attorney's office for months, trying to get charges against Burress resolved so he could avoid a lengthy trial with the goal of returning to the NFL in time for the 2009 season.
NFL.com Video
The latest on Plaxico Burress' scheduled court appearance and future in the NFL.
A witness told police that Burress was sitting near the V.I.P. area of the club holding a drink in his left hand and fidgeting with his right hand in the area of the waistline of his pants. The witness then heard a single "pop" sound before hearing Burress say, "Take me to the hospital."
Burress was on the ground, with his legs shaking, when a bloody gun -- a .40-caliber Glock -- fell out of his pantleg and onto the floor, according to the complaint. Sometime later, Burress, who does not have a permit to carry a handgun in New York City, was treated and released at a hospital before returning to his New Jersey home.
At the time, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg lashed out at Burress for carrying an illegal handgun. He also criticized New York Presbyterian Hospital for failing to inform the police about Burress' gun-related injury, as city law requires. And he questioned the motives of the Giants, who also neglected to notify the authorities.
Burress caught the go-ahead touchdown pass in the Giants' 2008 Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots, following a regular season in which he scored a career-high 12 TDs.
He was rewarded with a $35 million, five-year contract, only hours before the 2009 season began.
Burress had 35 catches for 454 yards and four touchdowns while constantly drawing double coverage last season before his suspension.
Information from The Associated Press and ESPN's Sal Paolantonio was used in this report.
