The pool of out-of-work-veteran-receivers-with-impressive-careers is down to, well, one.
Plaxico Burress still doesn’t have a job. And he recently told KILT in Houston that, once he gets one, he’ll be even better than he was in 2011, when he scored eight touchdowns for the Jets.
"[F]or me to go out and do some of the things I was able to do last year, being away from the game for two years, I kind of thought that was enough to set myself up leading up to this year, to have an even better year,” Burress said, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. “The crazy thing about it is nobody’s even see me or seen the kind of shape that I’m in. I just want to get out on the football field and get back to dominating my position and everybody’s just going to go, ‘Wow.’”
Burress, who disputed a report that he owes nearly $60,000 in taxes, said he “would die to be” a member of the Texans, who currently have only two receivers with NFL regular-season experience.
The former Steeler, Giant, and Jet admits that his past could be keeping him out of work. “I was young at one time,” Burress said. “I’ve made some mistakes. Like I’ve been saying, I’ve made some mistakes in my life and I’ve moved on from them and I wish that everybody would, also. I’ve put those things behind me and I’m just focused on being a better person and moving forward in life. . . . If I don’t play football, let it be because I can’t perform physically, not because of what my past has been or what somebody has said.”
He has a pretty good point. While teams are always concerned about the influence a veteran receiver with a history of being late and otherwise doing whatever he wants to do would set a bad example for young players, putting him on a short leash at a time when unemployment has left him humble has no real downside. So if guys like Randy Moss and Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens can get a job, why shouldn’t Plaxico get a chance, too?
Especially since he’s the only member of that quartet to have earned a Super Bowl ring.