Giants' Brandon Jacobs: Plaxico Burress Will Sign with Philadelphia Eagles

There have been a lot of rumblings lately about Plaxico Burress signing with the Philadelphia Eagles.  The initial report came from Gary Myers of the New York Daily News back on May 22nd saying "he heard" that the Eagles will be "first in line" to sign Plaxico Burress.

Then, on May 29th in a Q & A on FoxSports.com, Adam Caplan said that he was told by a personnel source that "Eagles coach Andy Reid has always been impressed with Plax’s ability to beat coverage with his size.  The source predicts that Philadelphia will indeed make an attempt to sign Burress."

Now another report is coming from the New York Daily News where Brandon Jacobs is now saying he thinks Plaxico will sign with Philly.  Here is an excerpt from the article:

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"I would hate to see him go to where I think he's going to go," Jacobs said. "Philly, no question about it. Plax is a Virginia guy. Vick is a Virginia guy. He sort of went through the same things and there are a lot of dynamic players down there and it wouldn't be a bad thing, he thinks, to go down there."

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Why does Jacobs think this?  Because he talks to him once per week so apparently this subject has come up.

Hmmm, Vick to Burress...we could call it: "Con Air".

But seriously folks, does Burress make much sense for the Eagles?  Let's look at this rationally for a minute...

Where would Burress fit in?  What value would he bring?  The top two wide receiver positions are set with DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin.  Jason Avant is a solid slot receiver and valued special teams member.  Riley Cooper is a player on the rise and also has special teams value. Heck, even Chad Hall could prove to be more valuable than Burress.

If Burress did actually come to Philly, it would be as a third receiver at best.  He is not a slot receiver so that would mean the Eagles would likely have to move Maclin into the slot whenever they run a three receiver formation (which is often).  Maclin isn't really the kind of guy who likes going over the middle either so I don't think it would sit well with him and his production would likely drop.  He needs to remain on the outside. 

Would Burress embrace being the fourth receiver?  Maybe, but not likely.  He certainly wouldn't bring any value to the special teams.  The only value he would actually bring is as a target in the red zone.  I'll admit, in that fashion it would be nice to have him on the team. 

But Reid has never liked the "fade pass" so that play, which puts the emphasis on a receiver's height and jumping skills, would never even be a part of the game plan.

Plus, Burress will be 34 in August and hasn't played football since November of 2008.  Factor the lockout into the situation and it's possible that he won't get a training camp or much football practice before the start of the season.  

Michael Vick took an entire year to regain his ability, and he's three years younger.  If Burress is given a year to regain his form, then we're looking at a 35 year old receiver who's talents began diminishing before his arrest anyway.

Anywhere he goes, he will likely have to sign a contract that is heavily incentive laden.  In order to reach those incentives he would need playing time and catches, which would both be hard to come by given all of the offensive talent the Eagles possess.  It would be more lucrative for him to go to another team that needs help at wide receiver.

In a nutshell, while he is a name that is intriguing, I just don't see him bringing much value to the Eagles.  The Eagles are good for a surprise sometimes but I have to think there is little chance of this happening.