Eli has no opinion either way on Burress

The contrast couldn't have been any sharper.

At one end of the spectrum: Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who had lunch Saturday with former teammate Plaxico Burress and told reporters he's been trying to convince Burress the last two months to sign with the Steelers.

At the other end: Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who didn't even poke his head outside the quarterbacks' meeting room Friday night to say hello to the receiver, who caught Manning's winning TD pass in Super Bowl XLII after the 2007 season.

Roethlisberger let it be known for all to hear that he'd love to reunite with Burress, but Manning voiced no opinion either way about what he thinks of the prospect of a Burress reunion with the Giants.

Asked how he feels about the idea of Burress coming back, Manning told reporters: "It's not up to me. They haven't talked to me about it, so we'll see what the coaches decide."

Hmmm.

And what about a report from Pittsburgh Saturday that indicated the Jets are interested in signing Burress?

"I haven't thought about it much," Manning said. "It wouldn't be like I'd be watching them play, except for when we play the Jets the next time. That's football. You see guys who have been on your team play on different teams. You just have to see what the Giants feel and what's the best spot for Plaxico and where he wants to be."

So the plot thickens. With Burress one of the hottest names on the free-agent market, with the Jets, Giants, Steelers, 49ers, Eagles and Rams all believed to have an interest, we await the puff of white smoke on a player who hasn't suited up in a game since Nov. 23, 2008, and spent 20 months in prison on weapons possession charges before being released in June.

Burress' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has plenty of suitors for his client, and you can expect Rosenhaus to play this one to the hilt and use the leverage created by all that interest. Rosenhaus declined comment about Burress Saturday, and Jets officials declined to discuss whether the team is interested.

But in conversations I had with team officials during the 2009 season, before Burress was sentenced to a two-year prison term, there appeared to be interest in bringing him in. Team owner Woody Johnson said he was not opposed to it, and there were no outward concerns about his checkered past with the Giants. Don't forget, Rex Ryan and Mike Tannenbaum have shown no hesitation about bringing in players with troubled backgrounds. They took chances with cornerback Antonio Cromartie and wide receivers Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards.

"I would welcome him," wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery told me at the time. "I know a lot of guys would welcome him because they know what kind of player he is. He's a good guy. He's a great player."

It's hard to imagine those feelings have changed. After all, Burress appears to be in good shape, seems to have turned his life around and is eager to resume his career. So why not try to get him? If the two teams Burress previously played for are interested, then there's no reason the Jets shouldn't show interest.

Like the Giants, the Steelers called Burress' visit Saturday "a positive." Burress met with team owner Art Rooney Jr., coach Mike Tomlin and many of his former teammates, including Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Byron Leftwich and James Farrior, all of whom lobbied for him to sign.

That's why it was unusual -- uncomfortable, even -- to hear Manning's evasive answers about the Burress situation. Even coach Tom Coughlin, who met with Burress for about an hour Friday, said of the meeting: "Plaxico and I had a very nice conversation. I told him our conversation will be confidential [but] I did enjoy the conversation." Asked if the talks might lead to the next step in considering a Burress return, Coughlin replied: "Possibly."

It appears Manning might have been the only one with a tepid response to a Burress reunion.

Defensive end Justin Tuck said, "A lot of guys came out of their meeting rooms to say hello . . . I think it was a good overall vibe for him. Hopefully, that coincides with him being back in blue one day . . . Would we love for him to be here? Absolutely. Will we keep our fingers crossed in hoping that he ends up here? Either way, I'm hoping that he has the opportunity to put all his past behind him and get back to doing what he loves."

Nearly three years after his career looked to be over, it looks like Burress has plenty of football left ahead of him.

The only question is where.