http://www.nypost.com/f/print/blogs/giantsblog/plaxico_says_giants_still_possibility_UdC0iCRrAiGfoWcV89K79L
Plaxico Burress spurned the Giants offer last season to return but the veteran wide receiver is set to become an unrestricted free agent next week and now considers the Giants “always a great possibility.’’
Of course, it takes two to make a deal, and it is highly unlikely the Giants will be interested in re-signing Burress, who returned to the NFL with the Jets last year after spending 20 months in prison on an illegal weapons charge.
The player who caught the game-winning touchdown pass four years ago in Super Bowl XLII after completing his sentence had plenty of negative things to say about Tom Coughlin and opted not to accept the Giants offer last summer, preferring instead to get a fresh start with the Jets.
Burress is now listing the Giants, Jets, Eagles and Steelers as teams he’s most interested in playing for and has made no secret the Eagles are his first choice. The Giants are bracing for the loss in free agency of Mario Manningham as their No. 3 receiver but it would take a leap of faith for them to reach out to Burress again.
Not that Burress sounds as if he’d need much convincing this time around.
“It’s always a great possibility,’’ Burress said Tuesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “Playing in Kevin Gilbride’s system is definitely one of the best. You just see the production those guys are having at the wide receiver position. Victor Cruz obviously with the year he had and Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham. You just look at some of the plays those guys are making out on the edge and Eli [Manning] has really just become a man at his position, leading those guys the last few games of the season and obviously winning a Super Bowl.
"Being in that offense, it’s definitely a great offense. We’ll see what happens free agency time. I haven’t been able to talk to any teams as of yet. I’m looking at all offers and looking for the opportunity to go into an offense and be productive, have fun and make plays these last few years. The goal is always to win a championship.’’
In need of a new employer, Burress has certainly changed his tune regarding Coughlin.
“One thing you can’t take from him is that he’s definitely a great coach,’’ Burress said. “One thing about playing for Tom Coughlin is he’s going to have his guys ready to go. They’re going to be prepared. And the staff that he has around him is tremendous. Seeing it from afar, from the outside, I don’t know exactly what goes on in their locker room or how he’s changed, in that aspect, but I think one thing’s for sure, is that, you know, you can see that maybe he’s gotten a little lighter on the players. The players have a lot of respect for him. They’re going to go out and play hard. ... He’s always been a great coach and his team is always going to be prepared.”
Burress in his one season with the Jets started slowly but came on and finished with 48 receptions for 612 yards and eight touchdowns, showing he still can be a red-zone threat.
“I don’t have any regrets at all, it was a decision that I made personally not to go back,’’ Burress said of signing with the Jets rather than the Giants. “Coming out of my situation, being away from football for two years, they were the first team I saw and I just wanted to go somewhere and have a fresh start and let everything kind of be new to me. That was basically the reason I didn’t go to the Giants. I didn’t have anything against them personally. Just for those guys to bring me back and talk to me and see if I wanted to come back, I have enough respect for those guys just for that alone. I just made a decision to go somewhere and have a fresh start, I made the decision to go to the Jets, a championship-caliber football team. I believe they will win a Super Bowl one day.’’
It is pretty obvious that his views of the Giants changed after the 2nd Super Bowl win. I doubt he ever comes back to the Giants with the things he said and the things that were said toward him.