By PAUL SCHWARTZ

Every moment Plaxico Burress remains on the sidelines, whether it be because his ankle is indeed bothering him or he’s staging a protest because he wants a new contract, some other receiver is getting added practice time.

Domenik Hixon is taking advantage of that added time. Thus far, Sinorice Moss is not. Hixon was picked up off weivers from the Broncos back in October, too late for him to fully learn the Giants offense, but he did emerge as the No. 1 kick returner. The team is intrigued by his potential as a receiver and Tom Coughlin singled him out for praise.

“Hixon had an impressive spring,” Coughlin said. “He did a good jb. I told him he was one guy who had an impressive spring that we really counted on.”

After a slow start, Hixon made some more noise in the morning. He came back on a route to make a diving catch against CB Corey Webster and then, on a fade pattern, he hauled in a touchdown pass against CB Aaron Ross.

Moss, the Giants 2006 second-round draft pick, hasn’t developed as expected. In fact, he’s been a bust, with injuries and inconsistency combining to make him an ineffective member of the team. Moss didn’t help himself in the morning when he failed to hold onto a well-thrown deep ball thrown by Anthony Wright. A fan at the University at Albany shouted “Turn in your playbook, Sinorice.”