Plaxico Burress isn't sure what NFL uniform he'll wind up wearing next season, but it's clear he hasn't ruled out the New York Giants.
"You never know what may happen," Burress told *The Wall Street Journal* in a story for Friday's editions. "I love New York. My fan base has always supported me there, and I've had teammates there who I've shared special moments with outside of football."
Burress and his agent can't shop his skills until the NFL lockout ends, but Burress is clear about his desire to play at a high level -- and his willingness to learn a new system if it means the right opportunity.
"Just give me a playbook and I'll learn it," Burress said. "I know what I'm capable of. All I need to say to teams is 'don't judge my future by my past. Just let me come out and play football.'"
The Philadelphia Eagles are considered by some to be a potential suitor for the 6-foot-5 wideout who was released from Oneida Correctional Facility in Rome, N.Y. on Monday after spending nearly two years behind bars on a gun charge. He was released about three months early for good behavior.
Eagles quarterback Michael Vick said in a recent radio interview with WIP-AM in Philadelphia that Burress would be a great fit with the Eagles. Maybe that's why Burress also was wearing a Philadelphia Phillies hat when he was freed.
"I think certainly Plaxico is going to come out with a chip on his shoulder the same way I did, and he'll go out and help this football team to whatever capacity he can," Vick said.
Debate: Where will Plaxico play?
We asked seven experts to predict which team will sign Plaxico Burress, and they all had different answers, ranging from the Giants to the Rams to the Seahawks.
Vick has spent time talking with Burress, and advised the former Steelers and Giants star to focus on family first, advice that Burress listened told. He told TheJournal that he's "100% the softy" around his wife now.
"Time had definitely passed. I hold conversations with my son and I see how really intelligent he is and I'm so grateful," he said.
"I'm taking it easy this week, but next week it starts again," Burress said. "I think I'll get right back into it and I'll fall back in line with all of it. How I feel about football and what I know I can do -- that's not anything two years can change."
Burress will be on parole for two years. He has to get and keep a job, undergo substance-abuse testing, obey any curfew established by his Florida parole officer, support his family and attend any anger counseling or other conditions required by his parole officer.
Burress joked that time playing football with other prisoners actually helped improve his skills.
"There weren't a lot of guys throwing perfect spirals in there," Burress told the The Journal. "I had to work to catch those balls."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.