Former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan is speaking publicly on behalf of a couple of his old teammates who want to return to the NFL after a long layoff, saying both Plaxico Burress and Tiki Barber will be valuable assets to an NFL team this season.
In an appearance on PFT Live last month, Strahan said the Giants bringing Burress back is a no-brainer. This week Strahan was asked by the New York Post what he’d do if he were running the Giants when Burress gets out of prison. Strahan answered: “If he got out at 4 o’clock, he’d be a Giant by 4:05.”
Burress is expected to be released in June, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has already said Burress will be reinstated to the league as soon as he’s a free man. The lockout may still be going on when Burress gets out, so he might not actually sign with a team as soon as he’s released, but Strahan thinks any team would be wise to take Burress.
“Plaxico’s not a bad guy,” Strahan said. “He just made a bad decision, a dumb decision which cost him two years. I think he’ll be back, hopefully with the Giants. But whoever gets him, he’ll be an asset.”
And although Strahan and Barber didn’t always see eye to eye when they were teammates, Strahan now says he believes Barber can return in 2011, at the age of 36 -- and for more than just one year.
“He wasn’t on the decline when he retired,” Strahan said. “He’s a worker who will bust his butt. I think he can do it. I think he has a few years left in him.”