According to the St. Petersburg Times, Plaxico Burress has expressed interest in joining the Buccaneers in 2009. He has already reached out to former teammate Derrick Ward and has also spoken with Antonio Bryant about possibly joining the Bucs (not that either of those players have any bearing on whether or not the team will sign Burress).

If Tampa wants to take the risk on the leg shooter, then they’d have a decent amount of weapons on offense in Plax, Bryant and tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. Of course, the three would also make one hell of a combustible combination and any one of them would be liable to cause a distraction at a moment’s notice.

Some believe that the Bears also remain interested in Burress, but I can’t see GM Jerry Angelo pulling the trigger (pun definitely intended) on a move like that. If Chicago wanted to add a pain in the ass wide receiver to its roster, why not trade for Brandon Marshall (assuming they even have enough trade pieces to make a dal) and pair him with Jay Cutler?

Either way, it’s looking more and more than Burress will play next season. His trial case has been adjourned until September, which means he could still play in 2009, although there’s still a good chance the NFL will suspend him, too.

Although rumors persist that the Bears could be interested, Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune writes that the team is unlikely to pursue troubled free agent wideout Matt Jones.

“He was a first-round draft pick and he is a very talented player,” Angelo said, “but it’s case by case. We’re not quick to move on any player.”

No doubt the Bears are concerned about Jones’ checkered past, one that included an arrest for cocaine possession last July. Jones, 26, served a three-game league suspension after losing an appeal. After violating terms of a court-mandated drug program by consuming alcohol, he was arrested again and faced further disciplinary action for the 2009 season. But the league decided not to impose another suspension, although Jones was fined $50,000.

In recent years, the Bears cut ties with two players due to off-the-field concerns: running back Cedric Benson and defensive lineman Tank Johnson.

“Guys make mistakes, move on, and become better people,” Angelo said. “Some guys have patterns of bad behavior and continue to have those patterns. I’m not saying that about Matt Jones. What I’m saying is we have to do our homework. And then you have to look at what value that person brings to your football team irrelevant of his off-the-field issues.”

According to a report by ESPN.com, the NFL has already notified Jones that he will not be suspended for violating a court-mandated drug program in March. At 26 years old, Jones is the best receiver left on the market. But even though he’s coming off a productive season (he caught 65 passes in 12 games last year for the Jags), he missed three games last year due to suspension and his motivation and focus have always been questioned.

I would be surprised if the Bears go after Jones given that they made little to no effort to try and sign Torry Holt this offseason before he agreed to terms with the Jaguars. I realize Holt is six years older than Jones is, but he’s obviously less of a risk and he still has a productive season or two left in him.

So maybe Angelo already feels that his wide receiver corps is set with Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Rashied Davis, Brandon Lloyd and rookies Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox. Granted, none of those players will strike fear into an opposing defense outside of Hester’s deep threat ability, but there still is some potential among the group and don’t forget that Greg Olsen is the best receiver on this team. (He just happens to play tight end.)

According to a story by the Chicago Tribune, new Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler has reached out to free agent Plaxico Burress.

Cutler has reached out to Burress, and agent Drew Rosenhaus recently said at least two teams are seriously interested in signing the former New York Giant. The Jets are likely one of them.

“Are we one of those two teams? No,” Angelo said.

Burress, released by the Giants on April 3, has a June 15 hearing stemming from felony gun charges. He accidentally shot himself in the thigh in November at a Manhattan nightclub. He could face jail time and if not, at least a league suspension.

“He could help any team,” Angelo said. “His play, his production speaks for itself. Everybody would love to have him on their team, including the New York Giants.

“But obviously, they are things that have to happen now for him to play in the league, get on with his life. There are a lot of hurdles to cross before you can really seriously sit here and use that as a viable option.”

Cutler should back off and let Angelo do his job. He’s the quarterback – not the GM.

The Bears’ wideout situation looks bleak on paper, but it might not be as hopeless as some make it out to be. Devin Hester isn’t a No. 1 receiver, but he’s a legit deep threat and his speed will always create opportunities in the passing game. Angelo also drafted Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox and don’t forget that Greg Olsen is essentially another receiver at the tight end position. (He’s arguably the Bears’ best receiver.)

The wild card is 2008 third round pick Earl Bennett, whom Cutler had a great on-field relationship with at Vanderbilt. Bennett didn’t catch a pass last year, but is expected to start over incumbent Rashied Davis and could blossom if he ever learns the playbook.

The bottom line is that the Bears have options and therefore signing Plax shouldn’t be a priority. Plus, nobody knows how his legal situation will play out and he could still face a suspension even if he is allowed to play next season. A team would have to be awfully desperate to sign Plax and despite popular belief, I don’t think the Bears fit that category.

The Cardinals have apparently lowered their asking price for wide receiver Anquan Boldin according to ESPN.com’s Sal Paolantonio.

The Arizona Cardinals have reduced their trade demands for disgruntled receiver Anquan Boldin to a second-round pick in Saturday’s draft and other considerations and are talking to at least three teams who seem to be newly interested, two sources told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio on Friday.
The New York Jets, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles have expressed interest given the downgraded demands from a first- and third-round pick, the sources said.

Cardinals general manager Rod Graves and coach Ken Whisenhunt had repeatedly emphasized at the team’s pre-draft news conference Tuesday that they would be happy to keep Boldin and eventually try to sign him to a new contract.

If I were GM Jerry Angelo of the Bears, I’d be all over this like stink on horse crap. Chicago doesn’t have a ton of holes to address after landing quarterback Jay Cutler in a trade and signing free agent offensive linemen Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale and Kevin Shaffer. So why not give Cutler a dynamic weapon like Boldin in the passing game?

That said, the Bears did give up their first round pick and one of their thirds (they still have one compensatory selection left from losing receiver Bernard Berrian via free agency last year), so losing their second (plus whatever else the Cardinals wanted) would sink their entire draft.

Trading away two picks for Cutler was already out of character for Angelo. If he traded any more picks, the Bears would be wise to put out a search party to see where the real Jerry Angelo was being kept.

Update: Cardinals’ GM Rod Graves denies that the Cardinals have dropped their asking price on Boldin. Looks like just another internet rumor on NFL draft eve…

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti recently took aim at Bears’ GM Jerry Angelo, ripping him for drafting OT Chris Williams in the first round of April’s draft when he knew he had a herniated disc in his back.

Now, Jackhammer Jerry is embarrassing himself publicly and making me wonder if the clock has started ticking on his Halas Hall employment. Sunday, he hastily summoned reporters for a conference call that turned into a mass scolding of the media, always the first sign that a sports executive is feeling heat. Never mind that he is the one who drafted left tackle Chris Williams in the first round while knowing the player had a herniated disc in his back, not the kind of injury risk worth taking when: (a) the Bears have an offensive line constructed from dental floss and marshmallow treats; and (b) Angelo has a woeful record of drafting during his seven years in power.

Jerry Angelo, you are ridiculous. What happened is that the Bears fell in love with Williams, who filled a desperate need, while underplaying the possibility that a herniated disc could burn them. Sure enough, they were scorched on the second day of training camp, when Williams suffered a new injury to the same disc. It led to surgery that will sideline him for most, if not all, of his first season. Granted, anyone who suggests Angelo wasn’t aware of the injury isn’t being fair. On draft day, he pointed out that the team’s medical staff examined the back “once, twice and a third time’…”But where Angelo blew it is when he shrugged off those three examinations as if they were frivolous when, in fact, the necessity of three exams only screamed potential trouble.

Point is, Angelo never has manufactured enough credibility as a drafter to allow himself the benefit of doubt to gamble. When Williams finally spoke up the other day about the injury, and delivered the news with matter-of-fact bluntness, it exposed the Bears as having taken a nonchalant risk. “I had a herniated disc before I got here,” Williams said. “We knew that. Everyone knew that…

Mariotti is right. Angelo screwed the pooch this offseason when he didn’t at least make an attempt at free agent offensive linemen Alan Faneca, Justin Smiley, Jake Scott or Travelle Wharton. He pigeonholed himself into taking Williams in the first round because of his inactivity during the offseason. Not only that, but Williams was a reach considering Branden Albert and Jeff Otah (two linemen rated higher than Williams) were still available. The Bears’ offensive line looks like a mess.

It might be a long season in Chi-Town.