Jets being cautious; Plax won't go Monday

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Plaxico Burress got a big surprise on his birthday Friday. Just not the kind he preferred.

Burress didn't receive a gift when he arrived at the Jets' training complex. Instead, he was hit with some news that stunned him. After coach Rex Ryan had said for days that he expected the wide receiver to play in Monday's preseason opener in Houston, the Jets reversed course Friday, shutting down Burress until Wednesday in an attempt to let his left ankle fully heal.

Burress even went for a MRI Friday morning, another precautionary measure the Jets felt they needed to take to make sure there is nothing else going on with Burress' ankle that they hadn't seen previously.

"Just a classic tweak, classic sprain," said Burress, who injured the ankle Aug. 2. "Nothing serious. I think we all knew exactly what it was: a little irritation, a little soreness."

Still, it's enough for the Jets to leave Burress at home even though he said, "I can go on Monday, but it's not my call. I've just got to go with what they tell me to do.

"I was expecting to play on Monday until [Ryan] told me I wasn't," he said. "I was anxious to get out with the guys and get my feet wet with some action. But he was like, 'I want you to come back Wednesday.' I think they know I want to be out there. He does have a point. It's the preseason. We have a month to get it 100 percent. Let's just do it the right way the first time."

Burress participated in Friday morning's walk-through, but that's been the extent of the practice time for the 6-5 wideout for the better part of the past four days. He was in on a few plays in team drills Monday but was held out of practice Tuesday afternoon when his ankle swelled up.

"I believe it had a lot to do with the style of shoe I was wearing," Burress said. "They told me to get rid of that low-top shoe that they give away and told me go back to something more supportive. So we think that probably had a little more to do with it. But as far as it looks and the way it feels, it gets better every day."

Burress, who turned 34 Friday, isn't worried that this ankle injury is similar to the one he had with the Giants in 2007.

"I know the difference between pain and soreness," he said. "This is soreness; the other thing that I hurt was a tendon [torn] completely off the bone. There was nothing that could be done for that, just surgery and rest. This is just a minor sprain. If I remember correctly, the last time I had a little tweaked ankle in training camp, [we] won the Super Bowl."

Ryan doesn't seem concerned about Burress' ankle either, explaining that he surely would play if this were the regular season. But Ryan believes he should've shut down Burress when it happened.

"I probably never handled it the best way," Ryan said. "I think we were all anxious to see him out there, but again, I want to see him out there at 100 percent, not at 80 percent or whatever.

"If we had to play a game, he would play, he would definitely play. He wants to go, but it's 'let's just hold you out here.' And I think it's the smart thing to do."

Notes & quotes:C Nick Mangold (stinger) didn't participate in team drills Friday but believes he'll play against the Texans on Monday . . . RG Brandon Moore (hip surgery) was activated off the physically unable to perform list but was held out of team drills and isn't expected to play Monday.