Once Again, Giants Say Plaxico is Welcome Back

Pronouncements about Plaxico Burress are starting to feel like a weekly event, like Shabbat but less religous and without candles. Every seven days or so, the Giants find some way to let everyone know that the talented but troubled receiver is still a part of the team. Tuesday's message was sent by general manager Jerry Reese.

"Right now he’s still a Giant," Reese said. "If things work out and he’s on board with what we want coming back, we’d love to have him back.”

What's missing, however, is the same thing that's always missing from the Giants when they're talking about Burress. What exactly does Plax have to do in order to fulfill those requirements and when will the team know that he's done it?

The legal questions are scheduled to start being answered at the end of March, but that doesn't take care of the second half of the problem. That's Burress himself, of course, and it's impossible to say when the light that makes Burress a reasonable, responsible member of the team is going to go on. Or even if it is going to go on or how the Giants will know that it has, in fact, gone on.

The signings of Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty have given them a surplus of top-tier defensive linemen. Depth is good, but only so many can play at any one time, which means that strength may have to be used to address another weakness. That dovetails nicely with their need to do more than offer limp statements of support for Burress when asked about their needs at wide receiver. 

Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.

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