After Accidentally Shooting Himself in Leg, Plaxico Burress Should Be Back This Season

The news that Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress accidently shot himself in the leg while at a club leads to more questions than answers. Chief among this: should New York just cut their losses and move on? Admittedly, Burress is one of Eli Manning's favorite targets, but he also can't seem to avoid the off-field missteps that have led to reports that he skipped out on a $2,000 tab, has been fined by the team some 40-50 times, stiffed a rental car company, earned a team-mandated two-week suspension and, now, suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

And, truth be told, the Giants are 10-1 with a less-than-100-percent Burress. Even before his most recent injury, he had been battling a bum ankle and sore hamstring that had limited him in practice, and the offense was still one of the best in the league. A dominating offensive line, a solid running game, and depth at wide receiver -- not to mention a maturing Manning -- all played a key role in that success.

The other question, assuming the organization plans to keep Burress around -- at least in the short term -- is how long he might be out after last night's incident. According to Yahoo! Sports' Jason Cole, the answer, amazingly, is two weeks.

Apparently, Burress' leg was grazed by the bullet, which certainly will help in the recovery, and Cole writes that his two sources say Burress should be able to return to the field this season.

"From everything I've heard, he was really lucky," said a member of Burress' family who had been told only general details about the event....

"I don't exactly know what happened with all of this, where he was or whether he had the gun or what," another source said. "All I know is he's supposed to be back in a couple of weeks."

As a point of reference, Burress' former teammate, Joey Porter, was out less than three weeks after getting shot in the butt back in 2003.

While it's good to know that Burress avoided serious injury, this latest episode could be the proverbial final nail in the coffin that is his Giants career. This has nothing to do with his physical abilities and everything to do with the above-the-neck stuff. Plax signed a five-year, $35 million contract hours before the season began, but I wouldn't be surprised if it turns into a one-year, $11 million deal.

If New York does cut ties with Burress, I'm not naive enough to think another team won't give him a chance; Dan Snyder has been looking for a big-play wideout for a couple years now, and I'm sure he'd gladly sign Burress. As would a handful of other clubs willing to overlook the baggage that comes along with the talent. I understand, it's part of doing business.

Lucky for the Giants, they're in the enviable position of being able to lose a player of Burress' caliber without worrying about the offense sputtering in his absence. Which makes you think that other organizations would be better served beefing up their scouting departments instead of throwing the dice on a troubled but talented player.

Easier said than done, I suppose.

The Plaxico Burress Saga

David Tyree had the highlight reel catch of Super Bowl XLII, but Plaxico Burress had the game-winner. Eli Manning found Burress in the end zone for the championship-clinching catch - easily Burress' greatest moment as a pro. Click through to see how things have gone wrong since then.

Jim McIsaac, Getty Images

Unhappy with his contract situation, Burress skipped the Giants' mandatory summer mini-camp and then sat out much of the preseason with an ankle injury. Finally, shortly before the start of the regular season, the Giants agreed to a five-year, $35-million contract extension with the disgruntled receiver.

Evan Pinkus, Getty Images

No mandatory mini-camp, no preseason, no problem. In New York's Week 1 win over Washington, Plaxico made 10 catches for 133 yards.

Seth Wenig, AP

In a stunning Week 6 Monday night loss to Cleveland, Burress scored a touchdown but was otherwise shut down - part of a subpar season that has seen Burress fail to top 100 yards in any game other than the opener.

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Burress had a bit of a meltdown in the Giants' Oct. 19 win over San Francisco. The NFL fined Burress $45,000 for his actions in that game, when he verbally abused an official and threw a ball into the stands. That came just two weeks after the Giants suspended Burress for their Oct. 5 game for missing a team meeting.

Evan Pinkus, Getty Images

Two weeks ago, in an easy New York win over Baltimore, Burress tweaked his hamstring. It was that injury that was going to sideline him against Washington in Week 13 anyway.

Kathy Willens, AP

The latest Burress moment: Reportedly out at a club on Friday night, just hours after news broke that he would be inactive on Sunday because of his hamstring injury, Burress suffered a gunshot wound to his leg - allegedly self-inflicted and by accident.

Stephen Dunn, Getty Images