First it was Tiki Barber, and now Plaxico Burress.
It seems that if your a veteran without a team, the Steelers have interest in you. That’s at least according to Peter King, who Monday wrote that the Steelers for sure have interest in Barber, adding him to a backfield with Rashard Mendehall and Issac Redmen.
Now another rumor about a veteran player looking for work has popped up, and again, the Steelers are involved. Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette tweeted that the Steelers may have interest in one of their former players, that being wide out Plaxico Burress.
Here’s the tweet from Dulac:
#Steelers coaches are interested in Burress but depends on price. They would release randle el to make room.
The current coaching staff has no history with Burress, or what a pain he could sometimes he could be when he played with the Steelers. It wasn’t until after he bolted in free agency that the Steelers finally got over the hump, winning Super Bowl XL, and then three years later winning Super Bowl XLIII.
Of course in that time Burress was a champion himself, helping the New York Giants upset the at the time undefeated New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Arizona.
So is the interest real? In 2004, his last year with the Steelers and the first for Ben Roethlisberger, Burress caught 35 passes for 698 yards and 5 touchdowns. In four years with the Giants, he had two seasons where he went over the 1,000 yard mark.
Here’s another bet, just like with Barber, that in the end the Steelers pass on getting the wide out back.
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DrGeorge
June 21, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Burress and S. Holmes are two of the premier WRs on the market; both have talents that would add a welcome dimension to any team. The Steelers especially need a tall receiver, like Burress, who can go up over DBs and get the ball. But both Burress and Holmes left Pittsburgh under a cloud, and the Steelers organization is not noted for buying players who have had brushes with the law. If the price were right, a one or two year deal might be worked out. Stranger things have happened. But the smart money says neither one will be in Steel City next year.
Mike
June 23, 2011 at 5:59 am
In the end, I agree with Dr. George that neither Burress or Barber will be in a Steeler uniform this season for the very same reason. However, I question why so many Steeler fans buy into the theory that the Steelers need a tall, angular wideout. Is it because Ben says so? I know that Steeler fans are aware of who were the wideouts during our two championship seasons. None were tall, but they were fast and or/ had great hands. Furthermore, they just made plays when needed despite their lack of a 6-4 or 6-5 frame. Even last years rookie wideouts, Sanders and Brown, contributed despite their lack of height. They made the tall, angular Limas Sweed expendable. It is time to pay attention to what we have at that position in stead of what we don’t have.
jay
June 23, 2011 at 7:56 am
I agree with both of you and would not want to see Plax or Tiki in Pitt black and gold. However, I think the prevailing sentiment and mindset(s) is/are that because Ben has typically not been the type of QB to sit back and pick defenses apart ala say Brady, Manning or Brees (and if I hear one more yo-yo say Rivers is better than BB, Imma vomit; he compiles stats and has a long wind up to go with a relatively weak arm!) or Rodgers, a tall, lanky, dependable wideout would sort of “bail” him out. I love BB, love him but what Steve Young says is true which is (the aforementioned) that he doesn’t regularly pick apart defenses. And I do see credence in the argument that a tall, lanky, dependable wideout couldin fact be reliable and have the ability to bail him out. That, however is not my argument. I agree that Ben should simply become slightly better at seeing the entire field (his high completion percentage notwtihstanding) and that we should indeed focus on the young (short) talented wideouts who are already on the roster.