THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs hopes a fresh start will be just what his good friend Plaxico Burress needs.

"That's how I looked at it, and how he looked at it," Jacobs said Friday.

The Giants released Burress on April 3, a little more than four months after the Super Bowl hero accidentally shot himself in the thigh with an unlicensed gun in a New York City nightclub.

"He made a mistake; he knows that," said Jacobs, who was participating in an event promoting the "Madden NFL" video game. "I hope he gets another opportunity. He's a good guy. He doesn't deserve what he's getting."

It's no surprise that Jacobs would like the Giants to add a "big, rangy" wide receiver who draws double-teams to fill the void left by Burress. He'd prefer they do it through the draft, though, instead of signing a veteran.

"I'm just in favour of the younger guy," he said, "the guy coming in who doesn't have a lot of miles on him. ... He's eager to listen and learn."