In what seems like a strange turn of events, Giants GM Jerry Reese went from saying Burress would be welcomed back on March 3 to releasing him on April 3.
What happened in between? Here are the relevant RotoWire notes:
3/3/2009
Giants general manager Jerry Reese says Burress would be welcomed back if he can straighten out his legal problems and get his life in order, the Associated Press reports. Burress? future is cloudy because he faces illegal weapons charges relating to a self-inflicted wound in November. He could get 3 1/2 years in prison if convicted. His case is scheduled to be heard at the end of the month.
3/31/2009
Burress' gun possession case has been adjourned until June 15, the Associated Press reports. Burress' legal team and prosecutors have reportedly been in discussions about a possible plea deal but have been unable to agree on terms. Probation (and a possible NFL suspension) would probably be a best case scenario here for Burress, but there's a very real possibility that he could face some jail time (something the prosecutors are said to be intent on) when all is said and done.
When I first read the March 31 note, it seemed innocuous enough - Burress' trial would be pushed back from the early part of the offseason to a later part. But what that also means is that assuming a plea agreement isn't reached before then, the Giants now had no way of being able to plan around Burress being part of the team. Their draft strategy, and possible trade talks for receivers like Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards would also be affected.
I don't know what the sticking points were between Burress' lawyers and the prosecutors - maybe the issue of jail time - but their inability to agree might have forced the Giants hand. I also don't know enough about the politics of being a New York prosecutor, but from watching The Wire, I can imagine them using Burress' essential deportation from New York as a public relations ploy - whether or not they think they could actually get jail time were the case to go to trial.
Burress, who allowed his agent to attempt to trade him out of New York probably doesn't care about playing elsewhere and might have wanted to escape the media glare as much as possible. But I can't imagine he'll sign for anything close to what he got from the Giants last summer - that is, assuming he's not in jail.