Plaxico Burress Rumors: Pittsburgh Steelers and Top 5 Teams Perfect for Plax

Plaxico Burress is officially back! With the lockout officially over, and the talented former New York Giant out of jail, teams have begun inquiring into the 33-year-old wideout's services. 

Burress still has plenty of value left in the eyes of many NFL teams, and the 33-year-old former Pro Bowler has been seen as one of the best free agent wideouts in this summer's class. 

But with all of the controversy surrounding the talented wideout, where is the best place for him to be? We know the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants remain firmly in the hunt, but they're hardly the only clubs out there looking for him. 

In fact, here are the five likeliest landing places for the man who tried to shoot himself and his career in the foot (or, rather, the leg). 

5. New York Giants

Are you as confused by this interest as I am? Burress is talented, to be sure, but the Giants have talented wideouts in spades, courtesy of Steve Smith, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks. None of those guys cause the kind of locker room problems Burress does, and the offense works fine with them as the go-to wideouts. 

Maybe it's because they know Burress, and because Eli Manning liked throwing to him so much, but the Giants are seen as one of the front-runners for him, even if it doesn't make any sense at all. 

4. Chicago Bears

As inspiring as the combination of Johnny Knox, Devin Hester and Dane Sanzenbacher might be for Bears fans, something tells me they'd welcome one more set of hands. Burress would give quarterback Jay Cutler something he hasn't had since coming to Chicago: a big, talented wideout who's got the hands and deep ball skills to give him someone to throw to consistently. 

But because Burress is big, strong and can actually catch the football, he probably isn't even on offensive coordinator Mike Martz's radar this summer, so don't expect it to happen. 

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

This one only makes slightly more sense than the Giants. At least in Pittsburgh, there aren't a plethora of proven wideouts outside of Mike Wallace and a 75-year-old Hines Ward. Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown aren't really big, possession wideouts, and Burress would certainly fill that need. 

But does no one remember how badly this marriage ended last time Burress was in Pittsburgh? It was fun while it lasted, sure, but everyone was ready to get him out of Heinz Field by the time he left. It would be a fit in terms of on-field skills, but do the Steelers really want to put up with him? 

2. Washington Redskins

Let's take a look at the Redskins' wideouts, shall we? 

Santana Moss (short and inconsistent), Leonard Hankerson (a rookie who wasn't all that great in college), Jabar Gaffney (really?) and that's pretty much it. 

Do you think they could need a big, fast, strong receiver with good hands and freakish athletic ability? Me too. Plus, we know Dan Snyder loves to throw massive contracts at high-risk players (Albert Haynesworth and Donovan McNabb, anyone?) and Burress fits the bill perfectly. 

Now, if only it weren't a race between John Beck and Rex Grossman for the starting quarterback gig (also known as the worst quarterback competition in NFL history), we'd be in business.

1. Cincinnati Bengals

If you've seen the Bengals' offensive depth chart this season, you know it's a much more barren wasteland than it was a season ago, particularly at wide receiver. Jordan Shipley is a fantastic slot receiver, and A.J. Green should be a star as a top guy, but Cincy could use one more wideout for Bruce Gradkowski to overthrow in the short term. 

Plus, we know owner/team president/village idiot Mike Brown has some strange obsession with troubled talent, and is convinced he can fix them. He loves taking chances on guys who've been in trouble with the law, and Burress fits that bill perfectly. He'd be a great fit in Cincy, but does he really want to play for Mike Brown's club when Mike Brown is still the owner? 

He probably won't, but the Bengals are a surprisingly good fit for him, and are the best landing place in the bunch.