According to the New York Daily News, a deal between the Giants and Browns involving wide receiver Braylon Edwards is all but dead at this point.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the Giants no longer see any hope of acquiring the Cleveland receiver and are moving forward with their plans to take a receiver early in the NFL draft. The sticking point still appears to be GM Jerry Reese’s refusal to part with the Giants’ first-round pick and the Browns’ refusal to take anything less.

It’s pretty much been that way since Reese and Browns GM George Kokinis first talked about Edwards in February, but until very recently there was at least some optimism inside the Giants’ organization that one of the two sides would blink. Reese has no plans to blink, the source said, and the Giants are now convinced that Kokinis won’t either.

So, barring a late drop in the Browns’ asking price – or a dramatic change of heart by Reese — the Giants will head into Day 1 of the draft focused on getting a receiver to help out a corps thinned by the losses of Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer. Several sources have said they almost certainly will take a receiver in Round 1, though there’s at least a small chance they’ll draft a linebacker, depending on how the first 28 picks break.

If a deal with the Giants is in fact dead, it’ll be interesting to see if the Browns can move Edwards at all this weekend or sometime before the season starts. His contract is up at the end of the year and it’s doubtful that he’ll want to re-sign with Cleveland. Of course, that might not be such a bad thing either, considering he’s largely underachieved up to this point in his career. Still, Cleveland would surely love to get something for him before he bolts at the end of the year.

According to Yahoo Sports!, the Giants are expected to make a deal with the Browns to acquire wide receiver Braylon Edwards sometime before the NFL draft.

The Browns reportedly asked for a second- and fifth-round pick and receiver Steve Smith, but the Giants declined. New York countered by offering the two draft picks and receiver Domenik Hixon for Edwards.

Neither the Browns or Giants could be reached for this story, but both sources said the gap will be bridged before the draft.

“The Giants are motivated, they’re trying to win right now,” the aforementioned quoted source said. “Edwards is a bigger guy that [quarterback] Eli [Manning] wants to throw to, like he had with Plaxico. The Giants know they can’t leave Eli with no great receivers. They saw what happened last year.”

New York’s offense sputtered over the final five games of the season after Burress was suspended by the team after shooting himself at a New York nightclub.

If a trade similar to the one mentioned in the report goes down, it would be a good deal for both teams. Edwards’ contract is up at the end of the year and there’s no guarantee that the Browns would be able to re-sign him. Plus, the new regime in Cleveland clearly wants to rebuild the roster and this would allow them to recoup draft picks that were traded away last offseason by former GM Phil Savage.

The Giants would obviously get their replacement for Burress and might have more success re-signing Edwards to a long-term deal. Although he’s underachieved outside of his breakout 2007 campaign, Edwards is still young and could thrive in a new situation. It’ll be interesting to see if this deal gets done and what the final compensation would be.

According to the New York Daily News, the Giants don’t appear to be seriously pursing trades for receivers Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards.

It could change as the draft gets closer, but it doesn’t appear the Giants are going to be able to get Anquan Boldin out of Arizona or Braylon Edwards out of Cleveland. Cards coach Ken Whisenhunt said they are negotiating with Boldin on a new deal to replace the two years left on his contract. “We haven’t thought about him not being back,” he said. And Mangini was raving about Edwards last week, which could be genuine or designed to drive up his market value. “He hurt us at the Jets,” said Mangini, who then described an acrobatic catch he made on Darrelle Revis.

With the draft now less than a month away, this the time of year where teams start throwing out their best crap in order to not tip their hands in terms of trades. The Giants don’t want to appear too eager to acquire Boldin or Edwards, while the Cardinals and Browns act like they couldn’t live without the players. As the draft approaches, we’ll see if the Giants’ interest for either receiver picks up again, with the more likely scenario being they acquire Edwards from Cleveland.

According to an insider at Scout.com, the Giants contacted the Browns about the availability of wideout Braylon Edwards.

Via Rotoworld.com:

The Giants contacted the Browns about Braylon Edwards’ availability “about a month or so ago,” according to the Giant Insider on Scout.com.

A February internet rumor had Mathias Kiwanuka going to Cleveland for Edwards, but Scout.com says Kiwi was never brought up in talks. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Kiwanuka traded with all the depth New York has on its defensive line, but Cleveland certainly can’t afford to part with Edwards. Take Braylon off the Browns and their No. 1 receiver is Donte’ Stallworth.

This confirms the old adage of, “when there’s smoke there’s fire.” Most web sports rumors can be dismissed, but this one just made sense. The Giants are in desperate need of a receiver and the Browns don’t seem willing to commit to Edwards long term. Kiwanuka might not have been a part of their talks initially, but he would make sense for Cleveland, who needs an outside linebacker who can rush the passer.