The brief Jets tenure of Plaxico Burress has been a mix of good news and bad news.
The good news took place on the field Sunday night as Burress showed he can still make the kinds of plays in the passing game that allowed the Jets to take a risk on him in the first place. He also showed that he can handle a normal workload by participating in all but two of the team's offensive snaps in the first half.
Bad news returned on Wednesday when the team announced that Burress hurt his lower back during practice Tuesday. Rex Ryan didn't seem concerned when talking to the media about the injury, saying they would limit Burress in practice on Wednesday while keeping him on track to play against the Giants this weekend.
Burress expressed an equally unconcerned vibe about the injury. He told reporters that football is nothing like "badminton" or "walking into 7-11 and buying a Slurpee" when discussing his ability to play with a minor tweak.
That's certainly true, although it doesn't come as much of a relief when discussing a player who hasn't even been able to grab himself a Slurpee for most of the last two years. Coming on the heels of the ankle injury that kept Burress off the practice field and out of the first preseason game, this back injury does make you wonder if Plax is going to be able to stay in one piece over an entire 16-game season.
The biggest concern with both of his injuries is that they didn't come from contact. After so much time away from the game, it is reasonable to wonder if his reacclimation to the football grind is going to keep causing him problems this season.
That said, there's certainly a bigger reaction to this news about Burress than if it had been Santonio Holmes or David Harris who felt a little pain in their back at this point in the season. This is what happens during preseason and might not even pop up on the radar screen if not for the intense scrutiny of everything Plaxico during the run-up to his return to the NFL.
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Burress wasn't a player who had a problem staying on the field for games during his time with the Giants, but he was often sidelined with an ache or pain during practice. The Jets obviously hope that nothing has changed on that front, even if the aches and pains are coming a bit faster and more furious than they'd like for a player who stands to be a big part of the offense this season.
As long as he's on the field and productive come Sunday, the Jets will take whatever other drama is generated between Monday and Saturday. Based on what's happened so far, it seems like a pretty good bet that they'll get it.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter and he is also a contributor to Pro Football Talk.
