The rumors have been out there for a while, but today was the first day that there has been confirmed, official interest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Plaxico Burress as news broke that the two parties were meeting.
Fan opinion on Burress, the former Steelers, is highly divided. Some see him as an old, washed up, ex-con and other think he is still the 2004 version of Plaxico Burress.
As usual, the truth lies somewhere between the two. I do believe Burress would help the Steelers in 2011. He’s better than any receiver not named Wallace or Ward on the Steelers roster and possesses size and redzone ability that none of the Steelers current receivers have. He would fill two of the biggest needs in the passing game.
Adding Burress won’t be cheap, though, and could negatively effect the development of Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown by lowering their playing time and possibility a spot on the 53-man roster, depending on how everything shakes out.
I wrote in-depth about this in May when Burress was released from prison. My conclusion then was that while Burress would help the team immediately, it simply isn’t a good fit due to the team’s more pressing need at other positions and youth at WR. All of that still applies today.
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