FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Plaxico Burress realizes he's not 25 anymore. Or even 31 -- the age he was when he last played in the NFL.
None of that matters to the new Jets wide receiver. And, he's eager to show why no one else should worry about it, either.
"I would say that when I step on this field Thursday or Friday, I'll look 25," Burress said as the Jets opened training camp Monday. "I feel that good physically."
Debate: Right move by Burress?
Plaxico Burress has cast his lot with the New York Jets. Is Rex Ryan the right man to make Burress a factor on the field again, or should the WR have returned to his old stomping grounds with the Steelers or Giants? **More ...**
Burress, who turns 34 on Aug. 12, was back on an NFL field for the first time since being released from prison after serving 20 months on a gun charge. The Jets signed him Sunday to a one-year deal, hoping he can revive his career the way Michael Vick has with the Eagles.
Vick missed two seasons while serving prison time for his involvement in a dogfighting ring before returning to football in 2009. He was eased back into things by the Eagles before taking over as the starting quarterback last year and capping a terrific, highlight-filled season by being selected the 2010 Comeback Player of the Year.
"He's been a good friend of mine for a long time," Burress said. "For him to come back at that elite level, it just shows a lot about him and his drive and his makeup. I'm just happy for him, and if it wasn't for maybe him going through what he went through, maybe I wouldn't be here today."
Burress is a former Super Bowl star with the Giants. He caught the winning touchdown pass in the upset of the unbeaten New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII before his career derailed after he accidentally shot himself in a New York nightclub later that year.
After being released from prison, Burress worked out near his home in South Florida with several NFL quarterbacks such as Matthew Stafford, Brady Quinn, Drew Stanton and Byron Leftwich. He worked on his route running and pass catching, and that experience gives him the confidence he can be a star wide receiver in the NFL again.
"It just feels like I never left," he said. "I do expect some rust at some point, but I feel great and I'm healthy, which I haven't been in a long, long time. And I think that's going to be the difference in me getting back to where I want to be."
Even before the nightclub incident, Burress was sometimes considered a malcontent, someone who was late for team meetings and didn't always appear motivated.
"I went through a lot of different things emotionally during that time," he said. "I had all the time in the world to think about so many things that I did. Being that I'm here now, I really don't have the time to reflect on any of the things I did negatively because it's so far away from where I want to be as a person first and as a player.
"I'm in a happy place right now."
Burress stood off to the side as the Jets went through their light morning walkthrough on Monday. Wearing a green visor, gray long-sleeved T-shirt and Jets shorts, Burress talked with quarterback Mark Sanchez and fellow wide receiver Santonio Holmes.
"It's almost a dream come true to be (his teammate)," Holmes said. "I watched him at Michigan State, then I go to Ohio State, then I follow him in Pittsburgh and he goes to New York. Now we've got two guys on the same team who scored the Super Bowl-winning touchdowns in back-to-back seasons. We've talked about that a lot. I was sitting on the 50-yard line when he made his catch. He knows I definitely think my catch was better."
Holmes has been wearing a yellow and black bracelet on his wrist that has the words "Free Plax aka Black" enscribed on it, something several players got when Burress went to prison in 2009 as a show of support.
"I showed my bracelet ... and the next day they signed the deal," Holmes said. "I called him that night, and he signed the next day."
While Burress signed for just over $3 million guaranteed, he insists it wasn't all about the money. The fact that Tannenbaum and Jets owner Woody Johnson met with him in the spring of 2009, when his legal status was unclear and he was a free agent after the Giants released him, made a lasting impression.
"You look at these guys and what they have here, they're building a great football team," Burress said. "They have a great coach, somebody you would love to play for in Rex Ryan. Woody Johnson, he's a wonderful owner and he's running this organization first-class, top shelf. They've been supportive of me, and just having the opportunity to come here and come play and be where I'm at at this stage in my life. To live up the street from here? It's just a beautiful situation."
Johnson said the new rules of free agency have made it difficult for the Jets to maneuver, but the team has always been impressed with Burress.
"We didn't have a lot of surplus cash," Johnson said. This is a perfect fit for us with Plax."
Free agents can't practice with their new teams until the union ratifies the labor agreement with the owners, and Burress is trying not to get too anxious.
"Patience, man," he said. "I've been away and that's one of the greatest things I've learned through this whole process is that it's all coming together. Just take it one day at a time and be patient. You know it's coming. Today's Monday and I'm itching a little bit to get back out there, but it's slowly coming. I'm not in a rush. It'll be here before you know it."
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
