Giants Might Want Braylon as Plan B

Plaxico Burress has yet to make his way through the legal system, but assuming he's a free man this fall, the Giants will gladly welcome him back. General manager Jerry Reese told the New York Daily News that he, head coach Tom Coughlin, and the rest of the organization are "on board" with keeping Burress around -- as long as he's willing to follow the team rules.

You know, the same team rules he so thoughtlessly disregarded right up to the moment he shot himself in the leg last November.

In the event this melodrama ends with Plax behind bars, the Giants are making contingency plans. Via the Giant Insider (by way of Ralph Vacchiano's Daily News blog):

[T]he Giants and Cleveland Browns were involved in brief trade talks recently in which the Giants asked for Edwards and the Browns wanted Smith ... does speculate that the talks could heat up again as it gets closer to the NFL draft.

I can't confirm the story for you at the moment. But it certainly was a hot rumor for a while that the Giants were going after Edwards, though the rumor (which I previously told you was untrue) was that the Giants were dangling DE Mathias Kiwanuka. TGI's story confirmed the Kiwanuka part was bogus.

As the story goes, the Giants offered the Browns the two draft picks they got from the Saints in the Jeremy Shockey trade. Cleveland wanted the picks and Steve Smith. New York countered with Domenik Hixon or Mario Manningham instead of Smith, and the talks promptly stopped, at least for the time being.

Vacchiano writes that "if the Browns really shopped Edwards around they could do better than a second, fifth and Hixon/Manningham," and I think that's right. Of course, the counterargument might go something like this: Braylon can't catch, which means that a second, fifth and Hixon/Manningham make for a fair swap.

That's a valid point, but it's worth remembering that Burress had an annoying habit of dropping perfectly catchable passes and he was still Eli Manning's favorite target. Plus, unlike Plax, Braylon can go from work to home without getting arrested. That, coupled with the fact that he's five years younger than Burress -- and arguably more athletically gifted -- makes Edwards an attractive fallback plan.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-23-2009 @ 5:01PM

Mr.G said...

BE definitely had a tough year last year with drops,but it wasn't all that typical for him.If you look at the year before,he was 1 of the best in the league and the G-Men know it.Edwards is in a contract year and has a lot to play for,He'll show up this year and prove he's worth the money.The Giants have a ton of picks and not many holes to fill,so if they want BE,they need to really pony up a LOT more than what they offered.A lot of Browns fans don't like BE now and vice versa,too bad.The Browns have to do whats best for the Browns, and an offer of a low 2 and 5 picks for a #1 receiver is a futile attempt at best.The Giants can take a long walk on a short pier.

3-23-2009 @ 6:47PM

marc said...

along with those draft picks, the giants offered Domenik Hixon. If you watched any giants games last season you would see that he will be a standout. the guy is big, fast and he can catch the ball and get open. I would rather have Hixon than Edwards but that is just me.

3-23-2009 @ 7:31PM

bears0492 said...

Marc, I have no idea what you are talking about. He's not big, he's tall, and he's got pretty bad hands. He can make most of the easy catches, but that's about it. BE is 10x better. He had bad QBs throwing to him last year.

3-23-2009 @ 9:59PM

Mike said...

Actually it was the opposite. He caught the tough catches but dropped the wide open 60 yard bomb in the Eagles game. It was a pretty high profile play, so he really never lost the stigma that he couldn't catch. But I think he's got pretty good hands.

That being said, I would deal Hixon in a second. Definately don't want to deal Smith, he would be a perfect complement to B. Edwards.

3-23-2009 @ 10:31PM

jjcook said...

I'm not sure I'd rely very much on anything reported by The Giant Insider, whatever that is. Seems everybody is an insider these days. A week from now when this story proves to be a joke, the Giant Insider will probably make something else up to sell its products. The very fact that the Giants want Burress back is disappointing enough.

3-24-2009 @ 2:18AM

Lex Kobo said...

Being a Giants fan, stuck in Cleveland i know first had that i DO NOT WANT BRAYLON EDWARDS!! He had one good year out of what, four years? With the sucess Jerry has had in the draft, id rather draft a WR or even two. Edwards is not our answer, If the browns dont want to take our 2nd and 5th round pick for him, then screw them, hes not worth anything more than that. Id trade almost anything for Boldin, but Edwards is simply over rated.

3-25-2009 @ 7:54PM

BIG BRAKE said...

Deal Hixon away with the 2 draft picks and keep Smith.BE and Smith and the posibility of Plax would be a dangerous combo along with a great running game and defense. If they can get the deal done the G-men are going to the Superbowl provided they stay healthy.