Round Table: Plaxico Burress

Do you want Plaxico Burress on the Patriots?  Why or why not?

Stephen: A big, aging receiver who offers only one skill and a ton of headaches? No thanks, we had Randy Moss in 2010. I would not take on Plaxico Burress because of his age, time away from the game and knack for off-the-field and chemistry issues. The Pats did themselves a favor by shipping out Moss sooner than later, and taking on another potential headache in Burress would only set them back. This team has a premier red zone threat in Rob Gronkowski and a bunch of younger receivers who need more playing time. Burress can fill a role as a possession/red zone player, but not for this team.

Rick: I absolutely would want Plaxico on the Patriots if it is at the right price (i.e incentive laden contract). Yes, he only does one thing as a WR, but he is a guy that can do the one thing the Patriots need the most, which is a deep threat wide receiver. Without that last season, Brady had to do a lot of dump offs to Welker and Branch. Now, that is all good, but Burress can stretch the field and go up for the ball with the best of them. This is different from Randy Moss because he is a guy who is going to come in with a lot of motivation. We saw with Michael Vick that jail can be a humbling experience and that you can’t screw up your second chance. If its a bidding war, I would stay away from him, and go after a Steve Smith or a Chad Johnson, but if I can get him at my price, I would absolutely want him as a third option who can at worst be a decoy similar to Donte Stallworth in 2007.

Jason: The Patriots have had a lot of success in bringing in veteran WRs and getting immediate production, but I don’t think Burress would be a good fit in New England at all. He’ll probably be looking for a few million a year in salary based on his reputation alone, and we still don’t know if the guy can run a 4.5 or a 5.4. He’s going to need time to catch up to the speed of the game after spending a few seasons with very limited experience (you can’t exactly run a fly pattern in those tiny cells, or so I’ve been told). Rather than flush $2-3 million down the toilet this year, the Pats would be better off putting that money toward an extension for Welker.

Derek:  A constant reminder of Super Bowl XLII?  No thank you.  But in all seriousness, I see no need for the Patriots to go down the path of signing a wide receiver with Plaxico’s checkered past and off-the-field issues.  As “cancerous” as Randy Moss may have been, he at least managed to stay out of jail.  I think there’s a pretty high probability that Belichick and I are on the same page on this one and we won’t be seeing Plexiglass on the Pats any time soon.