The New York Giants officially said goodbye to Plaxico Burress on April 3, releasing the talented but troubled wide receiver. But it wasn’t until shortly after 1 p.m. Monday that the Burress Era truly ended and the Giants were finally able to move on.

Once word got out that linebacker Antonio Pierce would not be indicted for his role in the Burress self-shooting last November at a New York nightclub, the Giants finally could wash their hands of the incident.

Had Pierce been nailed for illegally carrying Burress’ weapon from the scene of the alleged crime to the receiver’s home in New Jersey, then the nightmare would have continued. Pierce might have faced jail time and the wrath of no-nonsense commissioner Roger Goodell. There is no telling what might have happened.

But now that the cloud of suspicion has been removed, Pierce can go from grand-jury defendant to linebacker. No indictment. No suspension.

Time for Pierce and the rest of the Giants to exhale. From now on, it is about football.

“Obviously, it gives us an opportunity to put that behind us and start focusing on football directly,” All-Pro defensive end Justin Tuck said Monday. “It was a situation of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Now that this is over with, it gives him the opportunity to put that behind him and get back to being the Pro Bowl linebacker we know he is.”

Pierce was expected to discuss his situation today.

For Burress, the nightmare continues. Once one of the most gifted receivers in the NFL, his career might very well be over. In fact, it should be over.

What team in its right mind would take a chance on Burress now? He was charged with two counts of criminal possession and one count of reckless endangerment in the second degree. If convicted, he faces 31/2 to 15 years in prison for each gun count.

A trial might be put off until February, meaning Burress theoretically could play this season. But even if he did sign with a team, Goodell would likely slap him with a significant suspension, perhaps even an indefinite one.

Before the 2007 season, Goodell suspended former Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson eight games after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor weapons charges. There’s no telling what the punishment would be with felony gun charges looming over Burress.

A league official said Monday that the NFL was reviewing Burress’ situation.

But that’s not the Giants’ problem any longer. Only seven months after signing Burress to a $35-million contract extension, they released him after he refused to renegotiate. At the time, Burress pushed for his release because he believed he could get a better deal with another team.

Really.

Burress had a chance to remain with arguably the most loyal franchise in professional sports, a team willing to at least keep him on the roster until his legal problems were resolved. But just as Burress used bad judgment on that infamous night late last November, when a bullet tore through his leg after his illegal weapon accidentally went off, he screwed that one up, too.

The mess won’t end anytime soon. Once hopeful of a return to the NFL, the next stop for Burress undoubtedly will be a prison cell.