ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

The New York Giants and Plaxico Burress are close to reaching a settlement in which the wide receiver will agree to a one-game suspension but have his financial penalties reduced, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen. Under the agreement, Burress would only have to pay half of the $235,294 he stood to lose with the two-week suspension.

But the most important part of the potential agreement is that the Giants wouldn't go after any of the bonus money in the $35 million contract extension Burress signed three weeks ago. As Mort reported, there are clauses in the contract that would cause Burress to lose a portion of his bonus money if he's suspended or fined for conduct detrimental to the team. With all the elevator clauses reportedly in his contract, the suspension could've had a pretty dramatic effect.

So why would the Giants be willing to agree to this? Well, for starters a hearing in front of an arbitrator next week would only cause further distraction from preparing for the Seahawks. And GM Jerry Reese and coach Tom Coughlin would also risk having their punishment undermined.

The Giants need Burress to show up to practice after the Seahawks game with his head right. By compromising on the original terms of the suspension, there's a chance Burress returns in a better frame of mind. I'm sure Coughlin's not pleased with having to amend the club's initial action, but it beats the alternative.

We've all seen what can happen to a team when a star receiver is sent home for a few weeks. Just ask the Philadelphia Eagles how things worked out in 2005. In that situation, Terrell Owens wasn't happy about his contract situation. But Burress has no reason to be upset about his finances because the organization just took care of him.

No matter what he was dealing with at home, Burress made an incredibly immature decision not to call the Giants on Monday. Is this something that will affect the Giants throughout the season?

Well, a lot of that's up to Burress.