Should WR-Thin Jets Give Plaxico Burress Another Chance?
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Jets have a big problem.
OK, they have many. But the issue du jour is at wide receiver, a position already thinned out by injuries that just received its biggest blow yet.
Top wideout Santonio Holmes has a Lisfranc injury in his left foot and will miss the rest of the season. For those of you keeping score at home, that leaves the Jets with only three healthy receivers: Jeremy Kerley, Chaz Schilens and Clyde Gates.
Not good for a team struggling to move the chains -- and whose starting quarterback is already under fire.
There are some available options, mostly of the fallen-star variety. The Jets have reportedly signed Jason Hill, but there's still a trio of former big-time NFL receivers out there. And one even knows the way to the home locker room at MetLife Stadium.
We're talking about Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson and ex-Gang Green receiver Plaxico Burress.
Burress, who expressed his interest in multiple teams this offseason, said in March that he wouldn't "totally" rule out a return to the Jets. The big red-zone threat recorded 45 catches for 612 yards and eight touchdowns in 2011.
Burress told WFAN in July that he thought Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez had "turned a corner."
"He definitely has enough arm," Burress said. "He was battling some injuries last year, shoulder-wise that a lot of people didn't know about … different things like that."
But then there's the lingering thought that the 35-year-old may have been a large contributor to the Jets' toxicity.
"For anybody to say I was a problem in the locker room or anything like that is totally a lie," Burress said this summer. "All I did was come out, was a great teammate, tried to play the best football that I could play."
The Jets waived wide receiver Patrick Turner on Tuesday to make room for freshly signed fullback Lex Hilliard. Rookie wideout Stephen Hill has been battling a hamstring issue and is uncertain for Monday night's game against the undefeated Houston Texans.
Sanchez's favorite target, tight end Dustin Keller, may be ready to return for the prime-time tilt. But for a quarterback already hearing chants for Tim Tebow, a proven receiver -- even if unwanted elsewhere -- could prove to be invaluable.
"Mike (Tannenbaum) and I haven't really discussed those things," head coach Rex Ryan said. "But whatever helps our football team, gives our football team the best chance to be successful, we'll certainly look at those possibilities."
Jets fans, pick one: T.O., Chad, Plax or none of the above. Make your case in the comments below!
