Plaxico Burress’ return to the field has been delayed by at least a week.
The Jets wide receiver underwent an MRI exam yesterday that confirmed his left ankle was sprained, and he will not play in Monday’s preseason game with the Texans.
Burress injured the ankle on Aug. 3 while running routes on his own with the ankle not taped. Initially, the Jets said he would miss 1-2 days of practice. But he has taken just four reps in team drills since then. He has been able to participate in individual drills, but the Jets are now holding him out of those until Wednesday.
“We want him to be at 100 percent,” coach Rex Ryan said. “We don’t want it to linger. We just think we chill him until Wednesday and he should be just fine.”
Burress, who turned 34 yesterday, said he wants to play but understands the Jets’ caution. After nearly three years away from football, he is anxious to get back on the field. Burress, who previously had ankle problems with the Giants, said he knows this injury is not serious.
“I know the difference between pain and soreness,” Burress said. “This was just soreness. The other ankle I hurt, I tore the tendon completely off the bone. The only thing that could be done for that was surgery or rest. This was just a minor sprain, and if I remember correctly, the last time I had a little tweaked ankle during training camp, I won the Super Bowl [after the 2007 season].”
Burress participated in the Jets’ walkthrough yesterday morning, but was on the field just briefly during the afternoon practice. He caught some balls from a machine and then headed inside to get treatment.
Burress had a compression sock on the ankle when speaking to the media. He put weight on the ankle while he was talking, indicating he was not in much pain.
Earlier this week, Burress snuck in a few reps during the team portion of practice, but his ankle swelled up after doing so. Burress yesterday said the trainers thought the shoes he wore were not giving him enough support.
Ryan said the medical staff does not want Burress to fly to Houston because the altitude might cause increased swelling. After Monday, the Jets do not have another game outside of New Jersey until Week 3 of the regular season on Sept. 25 in Oakland.
Burress signed a one-year, $3.017 million deal with the Jets after spending nearly two years in prison. The Jets have yet to see what their new toy can do, though, at first because of the rules on when free agent signees could practice and then because of the injury. The regular-season opener remains a month away, but Burress and quarterback Mark Sanchez are missing a lot of practice time. The Jets have 24 full practices before the regular season begins against the Cowboys on Sept. 11. Burress already has missed 10.
According to Ryan, it helps Burress’ learning curve that he is able to participate in the Jets’ morning walkthroughs and watch from the side during practice.
“I’m not as concerned right now because he’s going through the walkthrough stuff,” Ryan said. “He’s doing the mental things. If he was struggling mentally, I would definitely be concerned. But he’s not.”
Ryan grew weary of questions on the Burress issue, saying, “We are looking into it too much.”
He said Burress feels better than he has before, but that does not make sense considering the Jets waited until yesterday to send him for an MRI exam.
“If we had to play a game, he would play,” Ryan said.
The Jets face the Bengals on Aug. 21 at the Meadowlands. If Burress heals in time, that would be his first game as a Jet.
“My time will come,” Burress said. “I’ve waited a long time to get back on the field, and just to get where I’m at now. I’ve been through things like this before.”