Plaxico Burress has officially been indicted by a New York grand jury on charges of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, according to the New York Times. His former teammate with the Giants, Antonio Pierce, was not indicted.

Mr. Burress was indicted on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and one count of reckless endangerment in the second degree.

Each of the weapons counts carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 3½ years, and a maximum sentence of 15 years, in state prison. The charge of reckless endangerment carries a maximum sentence of 1 year in jail.

The New York City District Attorney is pushing for Burress to serve at least two years in prison, although Plax’s attorney is hoping that his client will only serve a max of one. The question now becomes whether or not Burress will be suspended this season and if so, for how long.

According to a report by ESPN.com, Plaxico Burress was willing to spend a year in jail for carrying an unlicensed gun into a bar last November, then subsequently shooting himself in the leg with it. But prosecutors in his case want him to spend at least two years in the slammer.

Manhattan’s district attorney says he wants Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress to serve time in prison, the New York Post has reported.

Robert Morgenthau told the newspaper that Burress, who shot himself with an unlicensed gun in November, was willing to agree to spend a year in jail, but prosecutors insisted on two, the Post said.

“We’ve always taken the position that he’s going to have to go to jail, whether by trial or by plea,” Morgenthau told the Post for a story in Monday’s edition.

Burress shot himself in the thigh at a nightclub early on the morning of Nov. 29. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and faces up to 3½ years in prison. Burress has pleaded not guilty and is free on $100,000 bail.
His attorney, Benjamin Brafman, told the Post he was “bitterly disappointed.”

“Now that they have drawn a line in the sand, this is going to be a battle,” Brafman said.

Brafman is “bitterly disappointed” that his client could potentially serve two years in prison instead of one? I might be misinterpreting the gun laws in New York, but isn’t carrying a loaded, unlicensed weapon a maximum prison sentence of 15 years? If Burress only spends two years in jail, that’s still a freaking slap on the wrist compared to what he could have served.

If Joe Schmoe does the same thing, how many years in prison is he getting?

According to a report by ESPN.com, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has told Plaxico Burress that he’ll begin the reviewing incidents (i.e. shooting yourself in the leg with your own gun because you decided to secure it in the waist band of your sweat pants) involving Burress that fall under the personal conduct policy.

Burress, who shot himself in the thigh Nov. 29 in a Manhattan nightclub, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and faces up to 3½ years in prison.

He made a brief appearance in court Monday where Judge Felicia Mennin adjourned the case until Sept. 23, enabling the former Giants receiver to continue negotiations with several NFL teams in hopes of returning to the field in 2009.

Goodell had been waiting for the legal process to be complete, but as it is delayed with no clear indication of when it will be concluded, the commissioner decided to take the initiative, league sources said.

ESPN’s very own Chris Mortensen believes that Burress will be suspended at least four games, which seems realistic.

In a related topic, Burress’ agent Drew Rosenhaus now says that there are five teams interested in his client’s services. The Jets, Bucs and Bears are the only reported teams that are interested in Burress, so that leaves two unidentified squads. But I’m sure Rosenhaus will dream up more teams as the weeks go on.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler made some comments recently at a football camp about his former Bronco teammate Brandon Marshall and now several media outlets are trying to drum up the idea that Cutler is campaigning for Chicago to trade for the wideout.

This is what Cutler said:

“I played with Brandon for three years and I think he’s one of the best receivers in the NFL. I think he can be one of the greatest ever to play.

“He’s big and fast, and can do everything you want him to do, on the field and in the meeting room. I don’t know what we’re going to do. That’s up to the guys upstairs. If we make a run at him, we make a run at him.”

Cutler also made it clear that he has a lot of faith in current Chicago receiver Devin Hester:

“I’ve watched every game from last year and seen him in action quite a bit,” Cutler said. “It’s a tough transition from (defensive back) to receiver. He’s still learning, but overall I can’t be happier with how we’re working together and his progression.

“I think he’s definitely a legitimate No. 1 receiver in the NFL.”

That’s it – that’s what Jay said. To me, that’s not Cutler campaigning for Chicago to make a play for Marshall – that’s Cutler stating that Marshall is a great receiver and if the Bears do make a move for him, then so be it.

But even if Cutler were making a case for his new team to trade for his old teammate, it wouldn’t matter because Marshall isn’t going to Chicago. The Bears simply don’t have enough trade pieces to send to Denver because they already traded away two first round picks to acquire Cutler. So unless the Bears would be willing to give up linebacker Brian Urlacher or another veteran of his ilk, then Marshall is headed for another destination other than the “Windy City.”

Furthermore, Chicago GM Jerry Angelo has already stated that the Bears won’t go after Marshall. Sure, he could change his mind. But it would seem at this point that Plaxico Burress is more of an option for the Bears than Marshall is given that Burress would require no compensation to acquire and the team could simply dump him at the end of ’09 assuming they sign him to only a one-year deal. (Theoretically, the Bears could do the same for Marshall because he’ll be a free agent after 2009 too, but why trade for him if you’re not going to sign him to a long-term deal?)

The media is trying hard to make story here, but there isn’t one at this point. There are no signs that Marshall is going to Chicago.

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.

Plaxico Burress’ gun case has been pushed back to September according to a report by the New York Daily News.

The former New York Giants receiver will appear in court Monday on gun charges – but the case will be delayed because his lawyer has been unable to make a deal with prosecutors.

“There is no agreement at all,” Burress’ lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told the Daily News.
The lawyer said the lanky wide receiver hopes to get the case put off until September – which may mean he could play in the upcoming season.

“We’ll be in and out of court in five minutes,” Brafman said. “There is going to be an adjournment.”
Sources say the district attorney’s office is insisting on jail time in the case – which could kill the 31 year old’s hopes of returning to the football field.

If he were to play this season, I doubt any team would give him more than a one-year deal. How could they when he might wind up in prison sometime in 2010?

If he does play, the Jets, Bucs and Bears are the three teams reportedly most interested in Plax. In the end, the Jets might make the biggest push seeing as how they lost Laveranues Coles this offseason and have lacked a true deep threat since Santana Moss. Jerricho Cotchery is underrated, but he would definitely benefit from having another receiver opposite him in the offense.

Now it’s just a matter of whether or not any team will take a chance on Burress.

According to a report by the Miami Herald, former Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress wants to play for the Dolphins.

Former Giants receiver Plaxico Burress, who has a residence in Miami, has told people he would love to join the Dolphins if his legal problems are resolved. The Jets and Buccaneers are reportedly interested. Burress will appear in court next month and faces the possibility of a 3 ½ year sentence for carrying an unlicensed firearm.

This was in the paper’s “Chatter” section, so it should probably be taken with a grain of salt. That said, I don’t see Bill Parcells taking a shot on a player like Burress after going toe to toe with T.O. in Dallas a couple years ago. Parcells wants to win just as much as anyone, but he’s too smart to take on a headache like Plax.

Miami certainly isn’t stacked at receiver, but they’re not in horrible shape, either. Even though he hasn’t set the league ablaze yet, nobody is ready to give up on former top 10 pick Ted Ginn Jr. and the team is really high on Greg Camarillo, who they feel can be the next Wes Welker. The Fins also drafted receivers Patrick Turner and Brian Hartline in the mid rounds of last April’s draft, so they’ll be more inclined to let those young wideouts develop than to sign a possible distraction in Burress.

According to agent Drew Rosenhaus, who is now a Twitter madman apparently, another identified team (there are now three according to Rosenhaus) has expressed serious interest in his client Plaxico Burress.

Good news for Plaxico as a 3rd team has just expressed serious interest in signing him. I won’t identify any of the teams at their request.

Apparently the Jets and Bucs were the first two teams interested in Plax and sites like Rotoworld.com speculate that the mystery third team could be the Rams, Dolphins or Bears.

Of course, there’s a very real possibility that there is no third team, especially considering sports agents are known for trying to create as much buzz about their clients as humanly possible in order to get them signed.

Remember this past offseason in baseball when Scott Boras claimed that multiple teams were interested in Manny Ramirez? And it turned out there was only one team (the Dodgers) that was legitimately interested? So nobody should be shocked if it turns out that none of these teams are “seriously” interested in Burress. After all, there’s a very real possibility that he could be suspended or in jail when the season starts, so teams have to be overly cautious about even considering signing him.

This Twitter site is going to fuel (or be the black angel of death depending on how you look at it) all sports rumors because agents are going to throw crap against the wall all the time just to see if it sticks.

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.

Jets’ GM Mike Tannenbaum revealed after the draft on Sunday that he contacted agent Drew Rosenhaus about Plaxico Burress’s pending legal situation.

“Consistent with our normal approach of performing our due diligence, we contacted Drew Rosenhaus several days ago prior to the draft to inquire about Plaxico’s pending legal situation,” said GM Mike Tannenbaum in a statement Sunday night. “However, we have had no discussions with Drew about Plaxico since that time.”

The Jets’ decision not to draft a wide receiver had nothing to do with their inquiry about the controversial Burress, according to a person with knowledge of the Jets’ thinking. That person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he’s not authorized to speak for the club.

“The Jets kicked the tires a little bit but it hasn’t advanced beyond that,” said the person.

This just goes to prove that talent usually exceeds all else in professional sports. Even though a player was a jag off to his former team and was dumb enough to not only bring a loaded weapon into a nightclub, but actually try and secure that weapon in the band of his sweat pants (who wears sweat pants to a nightclub anyway?) only to shoot himself in the leg, he will still be given every opportunity to get back onto the field.

The Jets are freaking out that they don’t have enough quality receivers to give rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez – and they should be. If the season were to start tomorrow, the Jets would line up Jerricho Cotchery (who is talented, but probably can’t carry a thin receiving corps on his own) and either David Clowney or Brad Smith out wide. Not exactly Jerry Rice and John Taylor, you know?

Still, if Tannenbaum were smart, he’d stay away from Burress and let his legal situation run its course. Then maybe you can see what kind of mental and physical shape the guy is in, and whether or not Roger Goodell is even going to let him see the field next season. And even then, I still wouldn’t touch him with a 700-foot pole.