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Excluding Brett Favre, which remaining free agent can play the biggest role in 2009?
The easy answer (INCLUDING Brett Favre!!) is Plaxico Burress. He's a high-ceiling, high-impact wide receiver. You saw the way the Giants' offense missed him at the end of 2008, and we've seen a handful of teams express interest in him -- even though nobody knows if he's going to play in 2009. If he is allowed to play, he's your answer. But it looks increasingly likely that he'll be suspended for at least part of the season, if not all. So in the non-Burress division, I have three veterans who could make an interesting impact in the right situation:
There's a lot of information about Plaxico Burress rumbling around Twitter this evening. As is so often the case in Twitterville, there are some shades of gray regarding how much of it is true and/or meaningful.
What is true is that commissioner Roger Goodell has initiated a review of Burress' self-shooting incident under the NFL's personal conduct policy. This information came courtesy of the Twitter account of Brian McCarthy (NFLprguy) at the league office, and it came about 35 minutes or so after Burress' agent, Drew Rosenhaus (RosenhausSports), tweeted that "There are now 5 teams interested in Plaxico. I expect more teams to enter the mix over the next few weeks as well."
The question is to what extent the Goodell news impacts the Rosenhaus spin.
It's pretty well established that Plaxico Burress is a pain in the ass to deal with. The Giants were willing to put up with it until Plax accidentally blew a hole in his thigh at a Manhattan night club last November (when, ironically, he was supposed to be rehabbing a tweaked hammy).
The team released him earlier this year and now Burress, while awaiting his legal fate, is lobbying other teams for a job. In most other professions, guys who shoot themselves -- intentionally or otherwise -- are automatically ruled out as potential employees. It's a sensible rule and one no reasonable person would question.
Plaxico Burress' immediate future remains uncertain -- there's still a decent chance he spends some time in the clink -- but this much is clear: the Giants have moved on. They released Plax in early April, and then used two of their first four draft picks on wide receivers at the end of the month. The Giants selected Hakeem Nicks 29th overall, and took Ramses Barden two rounds later.
Both are big receivers -- Nicks, 6-1, 215, has been compared to Anquan Boldin; Barden, 6-6, 226, is more physically similar to Burress -- but rookie wideouts are notoriously slow to transition to the NFL, sometimes taking two or three years to get acclimated. There are exceptions -- Dwayne Bowe and Marques Colston come to mind -- but I don't think the Giants are expecting Pro Bowl-type performances from Nicks or Barden next season.
We're two months from training camps, a time when most NFL teams are done with free agency (at least the big-name signings, primarily because most of those guys have jobs) and have transitioned to evaluating players currently on their rosters. Not the Bucs. They're still looking for wideouts.
About two months ago, we learned that there was a high likelihood Plaxico Burress was going to wind up in jail. The second-degree weapons charge that Burress has been charged with carries a 3 1/2-year minimum sentence. Even under a reduced third-degree charge, Burress faces up to two years behind bars.
So a plea deal that would include just three months in prison and a bunch of community service seems like a nice little bargain for Burress. Except the wide receiver doesn't see it that way, according to Giants play-by-play announcer Bob Papa, who said Burress is "deathly afraid" of going to jail and wants to take his chances in court.
The stagnant and seemingly dried-up free-agent wide receiver market looks like it will receive a jolt. According to a published report, Matt Jones, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars, will avoid league suspension for violating terms of a court-ordered drug program.
As the season grows closer and closer, the malign on the Bears receiving corps gains steam. It seems as though everyone in the world believes the receiving corps is so bad that Jay Cutler can't be successful. Nevermind the fact that the vastly inferior Kyle Orton threw for almost 3,000 yards and 18 touchdowns (in 15 games) in the same offense last season. It's not as though the losses of Marty Booker and a handful of games from Brandon Lloyd are irreplaceable.
Still, Bears general manager Jerry Angelo just can't escape the question of whether or not the Bears will pursue help at wide receiver. Inevitably, Plaxico Burress' name arises.
Burress has been in and out of court on illegal gun charges, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg threatened to make an example of him. Assuming Burress avoids time in the slammer, there's a chance he returns to the NFL next season. And not just because his agent Drew RosenhausTweets as much (while running wind sprints!). Some players would gladly welcome Plax into their locker room.
In what is rapidly becoming the most delightfully deluded Twitter feed, Drew Rosenhaus recently let the world know, via almighty tweeting, that two teams are "very serious" about signing legally-challenged wideout Plaxico Burress. The New York Jets are believed to be one of the teams interested, should Burress avoid jail time.
As far as the other? It's probably the New York Smokescreens. Rosenhaus obviously has very strong reasons -- many green ones -- to try and drive up the price for every single one of his clients. Check out the Twitter feed. It's the most biased thing you'll ever see. All Rosenhaus' clients are somehow, coincidentally, in the best shape of their lives and ready to take the league by storm.
Send your NFL questions (along with your name and location) to NFLFanHouse@gmail.com. Each Thursday, we'll answer the best -- or, if nothing else, most entertaining -- in our NFL Mailbag.
There's a lot of information about 
It's pretty well established that 
Plaxico Burress
A quick recap of the Buccaneers' offseason: 
About two months ago, we learned that there was a high likelihood 
The stagnant and seemingly dried-up free-agent wide receiver market looks like it will receive a jolt. According to a published report, 
As the season grows closer and closer, the malign on the Bears receiving corps gains steam. It seems as though everyone in the world believes the receiving corps is so bad that 
Last November, then-Giants wide receiver 
In what is rapidly becoming the most delightfully deluded Twitter feed, 
