Plaxico Burress spent the last four seasons with the Giants. (Harry How/Getty Images)

The New York Giants released Plaxico Burress on Friday, three days after the troubled wide receiver had his gun possession case adjourned until June.

Burress, 31, accidentally shot himself in the leg with an unlicensed firearm he had tucked into his waistband at a New York City nightclub last year.

Burress is charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, a felony carrying a minimum prison sentence of 3½ years upon conviction.

The Associated Press reported this week that Burress and prosecutors have been in discussions about a deal but remain at odds over the terms.

After Burress shot himself in late November, the Giants suspended him for the final four games of the regular season and fined him an additional week's salary for conduct detrimental to the team.

"I am an optimist, and I believe most situations can be worked out," general manager Jerry Reese said in announcing the decision. "We hung in there as long as we could in hopes that there could be a resolution to this situation other than the decision we made today to release Plaxico.

"It wasn't to be, so now we have to move on. Like everybody else here, we want nothing but the best for Plaxico, and we are appreciative of the contributions he made to this franchise."

The Giants signed Burress prior to the 2005 season, luring him from the Pittsburgh Steelers with a six-year, $25-million US deal.

In four seasons with New York, Burress caught 33 touchdown passes and twice exceeded 1,000 yards receiving. The highlight of his tenure came when he scored the Super Bowl-winning touchdown in February 2008, propelling the Giants to a monumental upset of the previously unbeaten New England Patriots.

New York rewared Burress with a five-year, $35 million extension in September.

With files from the Associated Press