Plaxico Burress Released, But Prison May Simply Have Hidden His Age-Related Decline
By Jason Lisk
Unlike Vick though, he will be 34 before any games are played, not 29. That five years, and at different positions, can make all the difference. Vick and Burress’ situations are not the same in that regard. The question on Vick were very much his work ethic and dedication to the position–the study and focus that he had at times ignored in the past relying on physical skills. Rustiness was also a concern, but at least his age was not. For Burress, though, even if we ignore him being away from playing competitive football for two years for whatever reason, age is a concern. I detailed how long some of the elite receivers had when I evaluated Randy Moss, and Burress is only 8 months younger than Moss.
Think of it this way, 2007 was the last time that Burress had 1,000 yards receiving. Remember, he had dropped to 45 receiving yards per game in 2008 at age 31, even before the night club incident where he shot himself in the leg. Other receivers who are within a year of Burress’ age and were productive in 2007: Randy Moss (1,493 yards) and now we don’t know how much he has left; Chad Ocho Cinco (1,440 yards) who dropped to 56.2 yards per game over the last three years and is on the way out in Cincy; T.J. Houshmandzadeh (1,143 yards) who is basically done and had less than 400 yards in Baltimore after being a free agent bust in Seattle.
Basically, I’m saying that IF Plaxico Burress had played the last two seasons and wasn’t in prison, and we actually saw him age, and those years had played out like a guy who was good at 30 and then started to drop off at 31, there’s a good chance we wouldn’t be having a discussion about him as a free agent. He’s a big guy, probably not going to be any faster now, and will likely have to catch on with a team that could utilize him as a third receiver or someone to basically run tight end type routes down the middle on third down. His agent has likely been responsible for floating Eagles rumors and Giants rumors, but I don’t see it. Those teams don’t need receivers and they certainly don’t need to wait another year on one. Burress has to go somewhere where he can contribute immediately, because a 35-year old receiver is really a long shot.
My guesses about teams where he actually could fill a need (other than the UFL):
St. Louis Rams– they lack receiving talent, and even if Donnie Avery or Mark Clayton come back healthy, they are different type of receivers–same with slot guy Amendola. They don’t have a tight end or possession receiver worth anything, so Burress could fill that role.
Denver Broncos– He’s not replacing Lloyd, and Thomas is entering his second year. But this team really struggled with passing in the red zone last year, and could use a big target since there is no established tight end to work the middle.
Cleveland Browns- Greg Little is a rookie, and not much else present here that can’t be easily improved, so Burress could be worth a look.
New York Jets- Obligatory, and we know that they might love to get a former Giant a chance to tweak them. Only realistic if they lose both Smith and Edwards, and don’t go somewhere else.
Carolina Panthers– They are going to need guys for Newton to target, particularly without Steve Smith, who is all but gone. Brandon LaFell and David Gettis are the top remaining receivers, and Dante Rosario or Jeff King at tight end? Yeah, I think that’s the type of team that could take a chance on one veteran to see if he has anything.
[screengrab via CrossingBroad]