Three days after Plaxico Burress said he’d be interested in joining the Jets once the NFL lockout lifts, Rex Ryan on Thursday night did not reject the idea.
Nor did the head coach endorse it. Instead, Ryan — usually as subtle as a sledgehammer — said the team will wait and see.
“We’ll address [free agency] once we have a better idea of what the rules are,” Ryan told ESPN.com at a Manhattan book signing — not addressing Burress specifically.
“What [GM Mike Tannenbaum] and I have always talked about is how we want to sign … as many of our own players as we can.”
Ryan added, “I’m excited about seeing what happens when the rules come out (after the lockout), and rolling up our sleeves and having at it.”
Ryan’s comments came after Burress, the former Giants receiver recently freed from a 20-month prison stretch on a gun-possession charge, called the prospect of swapping Blue for Green “appealing.”
Burress’ availability figures to mesh with the Jets’ needs; they could lose receivers Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and/or Brad Smith to free agency.
Burress, 34 in August, last played in 2008, just before the Nov. 29 incident at a nightclub in Manhattan when he accidentally shot himself in the leg. He pleaded guilty in August 2009 to attempted criminal possession of a weapon.
If anything gets in the way of Burress joining the Jets, that history won’t be a factor, Ryan said. Holmes and Edwards each have clashed with the law.
“Nobody’s perfect,” Ryan said. “Everybody’s made mistakes in their life. Certainly, I’ve made more than my share.”