Per ESPN:
Forget about Braylon Edwards. Forget about Randy Moss. The New York Jets stayed local, signing former Giants Super Bowl star Plaxico Burressto a one-year contract, the team announced Sunday morning.
Burress’ deal is worth $3.017 million, fully guaranteed, league sources told ESPN Insider Adam Schefter.
The Jets, who showed interest two years ago before Burress served a 20-month prison sentence on gun charges, stepped up their pursuit Friday, the same day Burress visited the Giants to discuss the possibility of playing there.
On Saturday, Burress visited the Pittsburgh Steelers, his first team, where he told former teammates that the Jets wanted him badly. He also reportedly met with the 49ers.
Burress will team with another former Steeler, Santonio Holmes, in what should be one of the most compelling receiving tandems in the league.
The Jets re-signed Holmes to a five-year, $50 million contract and decided to move on from Edwards, who refused to lower his asking price.
Burress hasn’t played since the 2009 season, which ended abruptly for him when he accidently shot himself in the leg at a New York City nightclub.
Burress, who turns 34 on Aug. 12, caught the game-winning touchdown in the Giants’ upset of the unbeaten New England Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl, before his career derailed.
His second chance at the NFL comes with a team that was interested in him a few years ago before he went to prison. Now, he’ll likely join the recently re-signed Holmes as Mark Sanchez’s top receivers.
Because of the NFL post-lockout rules, Burress can’t practice with the team until Thursday. But clearly, the Jets were confident the former Pro Bowl receiver has a lot left as they try for a Super Bowl run. Burress gives Sanchez a big receiver — he’s 6-foot-5 — to complement Holmes, Jerricho Cotchery, Dustin Keller and a solid running game with Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson.
Burress has 505 catches for 7,845 yards and 55 touchdowns in his NFL career with the Steelers and Giants.
He caught 35 passes for 698 yards and five touchdowns in his final year with Pittsburgh in 2004 as the Steelers slowly broke in Ben Roethlisberger, a rookie at the time. Burress moved on to New York, where he thrived catching balls from Eli Manning, but often ran into trouble with coach Tom Coughlin.
The move softens the blow for the Jets after losing out on getting cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who was New York’s top priority after re-signing Holmes. But Asomugha surprisingly signed with Philadelphia, and the Jets were forced to turn their attention elsewhere.
Burress wrote on his Twitter page: “East Coast here I come!”
The Jets have all six draft picks under contract after agreeing to terms with third-round pick Kenrick Ellis on Sunday, according to a league source. Ellis, 6-foot-5, 350 pounds, is a nose tackle from Hampton (Va.) University the Jets see as a highly talented developmental player.
Ellis is awaiting a November trial on a felony assault charge, stemming from an on-campus incident from more than one year ago. His contract probably took a little longer because of the legal issues, with the Jets likely seeking protection in the event Ellis can’t fulfill the deal.
