Plax to Jets? Other teams interested, too

Despite unconfirmed swirling reports that free-agent wide receiver Plaxico Burress is scheduled to meet with the Jets at the team's Florham Park, N.J., training facility Sunday, a person with knowledge of the situation said there will be no meeting with Burress Sunday and refused to comment beyond that.

So it's possible a meeting could take place Monday, the first day the Jets are scheduled to hit the field for training camp practice.

Even though Burress' name has been brought up frequently as someone who could be linked to the Jets during the current free-agency bonanza, his proposed visit is somewhat of a surprise.

Heading into Saturday, it was widely believed that only two teams were legitimate landing spots for Burress: the Giants and Steelers. Burress met with the Giants on Friday and did the same with the Steelers Saturday. Word later broke that he told a few of his former teammates that the Jets, along with the 49ers, are interested in him.

"I know they have a good team and everybody knows Rex [Ryan], so . . . ," Burress told the Newark Star Ledger Saturday. "I think he's great. He stands behind his players, I think his players have a lot of respect for him and they play hard for him . . . He's a great coach, great personality. He seems like he's always upbeat."

There also are rumors that Burress wants to join what quarterback Vince Young -- released by the Titans on Thursday and signed by the Eagles on Friday -- already has dubbed "The Dream Team" in Philadelphia.

But Saturday was the Steelers' turn to gauge where Burress is physically and mentally. He had breakfast with coach Mike Tomlin and later sat down with team president Art Rooney and general manager Kevin Colbert.

Colbert told reporters he thought the meeting with Burress was a positive one, mentioning he was going to sit down with Tomlin at some point Saturday to assess his feelings about the likelihood of bringing Burress on board. Colbert didn't deny that both sides are intrigued about a reunion. Pittsburgh drafted Burress eighth overall in 2000 and he played five seasons for the Steelers before joining the Giants as a free agent in 2005.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Burress ate lunch with many of his former Steelers teammates, including wideout Hines Ward and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. As one might expect, they apparently made recruiting pitches to Burress, letting him know how much they wanted him back.

"I got a chance to see all my boys, all the fellas," Burress told the Star-Ledger. "It brought back a lot of memories, that's for sure. Some great memories -- great memories."

Maybe, but the Steelers reportedly are over the $120-million salary cap threshold, meaning they would have to restructure some contracts or release a few players in order to get under the cap. So they'll have some decisions to make if they're going to land Burress.

Burress' trek to western Pennsylvania came on the heels of Friday evening's sit-down with Giants coach Tom Coughlin and general manager Jerry Reese at Timex Performance Center. Burress spent roughly 90 minutes at the Giants' practice facility, and Reese called the conversations positive all the way around.