Giants quarterback Eli Manning said Thursday that there was no "agenda" to "phase out" receiver Amani Toomer towards the end of the season. "No, it wasn't phasing him out," Manning said. "We just had other guys in there also. Everybody can't get playing time. We put him in certain situations and had to rotate a lot of guys in." Toomer disagrees and said so on Wednesday when he accused coaches of having an "agenda" to phase him out of the offense right from the beginning of this past season.

Brandon Jacobs wants to return to the Giants and he wants Plaxico Burress back as well. The free agent running back believes his teammate Burress has changed. ?Oh, no question,? Jacobs said. ?If I?m here, I need 17 back on that roster." Jacobs said he has talked to Burress frequently and texts him every other day. He said Burress is a ?different guy? since he shot himself back in November and ended up with season-ending suspension. Burress is also facing 3 ?-15 years in prison for carrying an unlicensed firearm in Manhattan, and a probable suspension from the NFL, too. ?He knows what happened to him,? Jacobs said. ?He knows he?s, No. 1, lucky to be living today, for how close he came. He realizes that and he realizes the golden opportunity he?s got in front of him to be able to take care of his wife and his kid. I talk to Plax every other day. We text back and forth. He?s still Plax. He?s still the same person. But he?s got a different swagger about himself. ?I think he?s changed. You won?t ever hear anything from Plaxico as far as any kind of trouble with ?team?. It?s all done. He?s finished. He?ll really be a different person.?

Amani Toomer spoke about his pending free agency for the first time on Wednesday, and it appears unlikely that he'll return to the Giants. The receiver is upset with the way he was phased out of the team's offense and isn't sure he'll re-sign with New York even if they make him an offer. "I definitely think that in the current situation I don't think I could go back," Toomer said. "It's a very touchy situation for me right now," he added. "I mean, it's hard not to get emotional just because I've been there so long. But I understand. I've seen it happen many, many times before to other players. It's part of the business. We have a disagreement. They have one opinion of me, I have another. When the relationship's good it's good, when it's not, it's not."

Giants' linebacker Antonio Pierce believes that embattled wide receiver Plaxico Burress will return to the team next season. "I think it comes down to how he goes about his business," said Pierce. "He holds the decision. If he does everything he needs to do, I don't think he's played his last game as a Giant. Mentally and demeanor-wise, if they thought he was so bad, they would've never signed him to that long-term contract. He's made some bad choices, and that was a very bad incident. But once you get in trouble like that, everything else you've done gets magnified 100 percent. "I know that Plaxico loves football. It's all he knows. Sometimes when it looks like you might lose that opportunity, it can have a powerful effect on a person."

Anquan Boldin still wants a new contract and appears unhappy in Arizona, which has fueled rumors that he could become available this offseason. If the Giants ultimately decide that they won't bring Plaxico Burress back because of his off-field issues, a trade for Boldin would make a lot of sense for New York.

Jeff Risdon has been in Mobile, Alabama this week for the Senior Ball and one team executive opined to him on Brandon Jacobs' impending free agency. "Brandon Jacobs had better stay in New York," said the executive to RealGM. "He needs that o-line. Put him behind the line in San Francisco or KC, and he wouldn?t sniff 4 yards per carry." Click here for Risdon's full recap from Tuesday

The New York Giants have promoted linebackers coach Bill Sheridan to defensive coordinator. Sheridan replaces Steve Spagnuolo, who was hired as coach of the St. Louis Rams over the weekend.

The New York Giants are targeting Dom Capers as their next defensive coordinator, replacing Steve Spagnuolo, who was hired as Rams coach on Saturday, sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen Saturday. Capers was New England's special assistant/secondary coach this season.

The Rams have hired Giants' defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo as their new head coach, according to an Associated Press report on Saturday. Spagnuolo replaces Jim Haslett and takes over a team that finished 2-14.

Giants' defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo reportedly had a secret second interview with the Jets on Tuesday regarding the team's vacant head coaching position. The meeting was scheduled because Jets owner Woody Johnson was out of the country when Spagnuolo initially interview for the position on Jan. 3. Spagnuolo interviewed with the Rams on Thursday, and he is believed to be one of the finalists for that job, as well.