Plaxico Burress admitted Wednesday that he met with the New York Giants after the NFL Lockout “to have some closure,” but that he never intended to return to the team he helped win a Super Bowl in 2007.
“I just wanted to go somewhere and get a fresh start. I think I deserved that, with everything that I went through, to just go somewhere that’s refreshing. The atmosphere that Rex has created here is just so beautiful and it’s contagious. I’ve come out here every day and I’m just happy to be here,” Burress said.
“I went back more to have some closure to the whole situation. It was good to see some of the people, Jerry Reese, John Mara, Steve Tisch, and be able to have an opportunity to really sit down with them face-to-face for the first time and tell them how much I appreciated them bringing me in, allowing my game to flourish and putting me in a situation where I could have success. Everything went well. It was a great meeting, but business is business and now I’m over here.”
The Jets and Giants meet Saturday in a preseason game at the newly-named Metlife Stadium. Burress said he intends to play despite tweaking his back in practice earlier this week.
To be honest, Burress moving on from the Giants was probably the right decision for both sides.“It’s just a little soreness. It’s part of football, the bumps and bruises. It’s not badminton,” Burress said. “It’s going to be fun. I’m still in contact with a lot of those guys. We definitely did something special and we have great relationships outside of football.”