Prior to FOXSports.com's Jay Glazerbreaking the news that Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg last night, reports had the Giants wide receiver missing Sunday's game against the Redskins with a "sore right hamstring." Technically, a gunshot wound will make a hamstring sore, but because it's such a rare NFL injury, you usually don't make the connection between bullets and leg muscles.
In any event, Burress is as out as out gets for tomorrow's NFC East get-together, although it's too early to speculate on the long-term ramifications of the injury. Glazer writes: "He spent the night in the hospital and the injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. The team is still trying to gather further information on the incident.
This has been a troubled year for Burress, who opened the season with a lengthy contract dispute. He was also suspended one game in October for violating team rules, benched during another game and hit with a series of fines."
Glazer did point out that, when Burress shot himself, he was already ruled out for the game in Washington. (The news obviously has no effect on whether Burress will play or not, just a little fact-check housecleaning.)
The Giants are 10-1 and eyeing homefield throughout the playoffs. They face a brutal end-of-season schedule with games against the Eagles, Cowboys, Panthers and Vikings, after this weekend's matchup. And while losing Burress is a big loss, Second-year player Steve Smith currently leads the team in receptions, and veteran Amani Toomer is third, just one catch behind Burress.
Domenik Hixon, who has played well in limited duty, will replace Burress, but the Giants will probably rely on the offensive formula that got them to this point: utilizing the league's best offensive line to pound the ball, and letting Eli Manning take his shots down the field when the circumstances call for it.
Meanwhile, here's to hoping Burress makes a speedy recovery.
