Plaxico is free, but where will he play?

Plaxico Burress was a receiver for the New York Giants before he was arrested on weapons charges and sentenced to 2 years in prison.

Plaxico Burress was released from prison this week after spending 21 months (of a 2-year sentence) there on weapons charges.

The charges followed an incident where Burress brought a gun into a nightclub and then proceeded to accidently shoot himself in the leg. You’d think shooting yourself in the leg would be punishment enough. But the league, and the courts, decided there needed to be real repercussions.

It was pretty clear that the league was making an example of him, which is necessary nowadays when professional athletes are international celebrities that are watched my millions.

Many football fans thought Plaxico’s sentence was too harsh, but as of this week opinions about the past no longer matter.

The only thing football fans are concerned about now if where Burress will play and how effective he’ll be on his new team.  Before going to prison, Burress was a receiver for the New York Giants, and he hasn’t ruled out a return to his former team – although it is pretty unlikely.

Other teams that are swirling around the rumour mill include the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, New York Jets, St. Louis Rams and the Washington Redskins.

Inevitably, with Plaxico’s return comes talk of Michael Vick’s comeback. Vick served 19 months in prison for running an illegal dog-fighting ring out of his home. When he came back as the quarterback of the Eagles in 2010, he had a remarkable season.

He passed for a career high of over 3000 yards, and stunned football fans (and football executives) with his superstar season.

Now, Plaxico is no Michael Vick, but it will be interesting to see if his run-in with the law is going to make him or break him.