Plaxico Burress Looking for a New Team

It did not take long for NFL teams to start making contact with free agent wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Burress was released this past off season after an incident with a gun in a night club last year. The Giants had enough off his off the field antics and choose to cut him loose, move on and rely on some younger, less experienced offensive weapons. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers seem to be the most interested in his services right now but a few teams are just kicking the tires as everyone is unsure of his off season progress. Burress is in fact coming off a lost season after focusing on rehab due to the fact that he shot himself in the leg mid season.

The agent for Burress, Drew Rosenhaus has mentioned a few times that a number of teams are interested but has refused to give any further details or actually name any names. A few reports have the New York Jets trying to bring his services back to the New York area and Jets owner Woody Johnson said he would have no problem bringing in the star receiver, even with his troubled and criminal past.

Before any team signs Burress to a new deal they will have to factor in the legal situation that he is going through and possible punishment that may be handed down by the NFL later on. The all star is set to appear in court in early June and could face up to 3 and a half years in prison, if things do not go his way, for using an unlicensed gun in a night club.

Both the Tampa bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets both desperately need help at the wide receiver position. The Jets are really looking for an impact player after being forced to release Laveranues Coles this year and they are hoping to have a legitimate deep threat available for rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez. The Bucs seem to have a lot less need, but the signing of a player like Burress could really put them over the top. This off season has already been busy for the Bucs as they resigned star Mark Clayton, tagged receiver Antonio Bryant with the franchise tag and then went out and traded for tight end Kellen Winslow. Of course the Bucs also used their first round pick on a quarterback as they went after Josh Freeman.

No matter which team is more in need, or who decides the signing is a right fit, it will all depend on what happens in court come June. If things go well for Burress and he doesn’t have to serve any time then you may see a whole host of teams become interested including teams like the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. While there is initial interest right now, there is no reason to expect that any signing would happen before Burress is either cleared or booked on the current charges.