This bombshell comes from the Newark Star-Ledger, via The Giant Insider who writes:

There have been plenty of rumblings the Giants had talked with the Browns about a trade for their top wide receiver, Braylon Edwards. Those rumors had revolved around the Giants’ sending defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka to Cleveland. I had heard nothing to substantiate the rumors, so I didn’t mention them here.

But Ken Palmer of The Giant Insider reported today that, while the Giants never dangled Kiwanuka, they did inquire about Edwards.

To read the full story, you need a Scout.com subscription, but I’ve seen the full report and I’ll tell you what Palmer’s reporting:

The Giants offered the Browns the two draft picks they received from the Saints last year in exchange for TE Jeremy Shockey: a second-round pick and a fifth-rounder.

The Browns countered by asking for WR Steve Smith. The Giants said no.

The Giants then offered either of two other WRs: Domenik Hixon or Mario Manningham. The Browns said no.

The talks died down after that last exchange, though they could pick up at draft time.

It doesn’t shock me that the Giants inquired about Edwards; he’s a top flight receiver. It also doesn’t surprise me that they declined to trade Steve Smith; he’s the next Amani Toomer. What does surprise me is that they offered up Domenik Hixon and Mario Manningham. Hixon was spectacular towards the end of the season, and we here at Giants Gab are very high on him. Mario Manningham also has a lot of potential. It’ll be interesting to see if the Giants revive these talks towards Draft Day.