Can Plaxico Burress return to the NFL?
It’s too bad that the league lost another one of its premiere stars to prison.
Plaxico Burress, the former Super Bowl star of the New York Giants, was sentenced to two years in prison for possessing a weapon at a Manhattan nightclub. He will be supervised for two years after his release.
Burress pleaded guilty before the start of the 2009 NFL football season to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He expects to begin serving time immediately and says he hopes to return to football.
The gun, which Plaxico Burress was carrying, was not licensed in New York or in New Jersey, where he lived. He had been charged on two counts of weapons possession and one count of reckless endangerment.
No charges were filed against Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, who was with Burress the night of the incident, drove him to the hospital and took the gun to his home in New Jersey before arranging to have it returned to Burress.With time off for good behavior, Burress likely will serve 20 months. He could be released from prison as early as the spring of 2011 and will be monitored an additional two years after he is freed.Burress hired a consultant to teach him how to use his time in prison productively and is already planning for a comeback in the NFL just like Michael Vick, who was given the second opportunity after committing a crime.
”When I get out, I’ll be 33, not 43,” Burress said in an interview broadcast in August. ”I’ll still be able to run and catch. I’ll still have the God-given ability to snag footballs; that’s what I love to do. Of course, I want to play again.”Gil Brandt, an analyst on NFL Sirius Radio and the former head of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, said Burress won’t be too old for a comeback when he’s released from prison.
”First of all, Plaxico is a guy who keeps himself in pretty good shape,” Brandt said. ”Lots of times guys get heavy in the off-season. He is not a guy who has done that.”Burress is suspended by the NFL, but the league said he will be reinstated after he completes his prison sentence.Burress’ biggest moment with the Giants came when he caught the winning touchdown over the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the final minute of the 2008 Super Bowl.
Which team will win Super Bowl XLIV? SPORTSBETTING.COM has the odds.
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Arizona Cardinals 25-1
Dallas Cowboys 12-1
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