The immediate reaction from Bob Glauber of Newsday, Twitter-style, to the news of the Plaxico Burress plea deal meshed with our own.
“Career over.”
But is it?
Even if Burress serves the full two years (and, with good behavior, he surely will do less than the entire term), he’ll be 34. (He turned 32 on August 12.) And even though he will have been away from football for two full seasons, he also will have had two full years without the wear and tear on his hips, knees, and ankles of playing football.
And if Mike Vick can be reinstated without further punishment after serving nearly two years for dogfighting and gambling, Burress should quickly be allowed back into the NFL, too.
But then there’s the knucklehead factor, which could prompt some teams to shy away from Burress after he’s reinstated.
Before he sent a bullet careening through the flesh of his thigh last November, Burress had been the subject of repeated discipline for showing up late for meetings and not showing up for work and generally acting like the kind of irresponsible jerk who would carry a loaded and unlicensed firearm in the waistband of his sweatpants jeans in Manhattan.
Still, in an era where giving fallen NFL players a second chance has become the latest trend, some coach will look at the highlight reel and decide that signing Plaxico will provide an opportunity to purge some guilt of his own.
Unless Burress stabs himself in the leg with a shiv while at Sing Sing.