Dan Pompei

Who wouldn’t want Plaxico Burress the player?

And who would want Plaxico Burress the citizen?

Burress remains unsigned and could remain unsigned for the foreseeable future because he is at opposite ends of the spectrum as a player and citizen. The devil on every general manager’s shoulder keeps insisting, “Sign him! Sign him!” But the angel on the other shoulder pleads, “Don’t do it.”

There is no problem with Burress as a wide receiver. He’s 6-5, 232 pounds and very difficult to cover. “Everybody likes the player,” one general manager said. “He is special down the field. He plays to his size. He’s athletic and competitive. He is really good outside the numbers, better there than over the middle.”

Burress doesn’t have the kind of speed to beat good cornerbacks down the field, yet he makes plays down the field. “He plays fast,” the general manager said. “Larry Fitzgerald doesn’t have elite speed either, but look at what he does. They both play fast because of their size and body control.”

If Burress were a boy scout, he would be on the cover of cereal boxes, hosting Saturday Night Live and leading the league in jersey sales. Alas, he has a long history of making waves.

Of course there is the issue of shooting himself in the thigh in a nightclub. Burress was carrying an unregistered Glock illegally and is currently facing charges.

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But that is only the latest of his problems. He also has drawn attention for domestic disturbances, an auto accident, moving violations, failing to fulfill promises to make appearances, not showing up for work and then going AWOL, being repeatedly tardy for team functions and abusing officials.

Even if a general manger decides he could take the gamble that Burress won’t be spending autumn in the hoosegow, he might have a difficult time convincing himself he can live with the day-to-day drama Burress is certain to create.

“We all know he would be a distraction because he is high maintenance,” the general manager said. “The issue is, would he be a disruption? What will he do to the fabric of your team from an intangible perspective?”

The latest development in the Burress case — having his trial date postponed until Sept. 23 —has been painted by Burress’ spin doctors as a positive development for the wideout. But NFL general managers are more likely to see it as a development that makes him considerably less attractive.

If an NFL team were to sign Burress now, it would be taking a considerable gamble.

A team could throw a good chunk of change at Burress and then see its training camp turned into The Plaxico Show. He would be a major distraction, even if he did nothing wrong.

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And then in late September, just as the season is kicking in, the team could learn Burress will be unavailable for a long stretch of time because of a court ruling. Or perhaps a decision by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell regarding a suspension. Burress’ lawyers say they are confident he won’t be tried until after the season — but it won’t be their call.

If Burress is unavailable, the team that had been counting on him to start—and giving him all of the training camp reps—would find itself having to promote players who had lost preparation time to Burress.

It isn’t a good scenario.

And so Burress — a top flight player — remains unsigned.

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