Plax tweaks ankle; Cotchery asks to leave

Mark Sanchez felt as if he were checking out a shiny new Maserati he wanted to take for a test drive, only to learn one of the tires had sprung a leak.

The Jets' quarterback was left to ponder what it will be like to work with new acquisition Plaxico Burress, all because the receiver tweaked his left ankle Wednesday night.

"I was kind of staring at it in the dealer window,'' Sanchez said Thursday, "and I'm like, 'Wow, yeah, that looks nice.' He's just got a little flat tire right now. Nothing big, nothing big. So he'll bounce back and he'll be ready to play. But we've just got to be smart about it, give him his time and get ready for him to come back."

At least Burress, who said he'll be sidelined for only one or two days and would be playing "without a doubt" if this were the regular season, is coming back. Jerricho Cotchery isn't.

In an unexpected move that Rex Ryan said stemmed from Cotchery's own request, the Jets released the wide receiver Thursday, ending his seven-year tenure as a Jet. Cotchery, who was on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from February back surgery, asked to be traded or released, Ryan said.

Cotchery was at the training complex in the morning but was handed his walking papers before the Jets' 4 p.m. practice, their first session of training camp in pads.

When rumblings surfaced that the Jets were bringing in former Ravens wideout Derrick Mason for a physical Thursday, the thought was that the Jets were pushing Cotchery out the door. That notion caused cornerback Darrelle Revis to say, "It's a cutthroat business."

But Ryan said after the evening practice that Cotchery had approached the organization and said he wanted out. Ryan said he tried to convince Cotchery to stay. No dice.

"The bad news is Jerricho Cotchery is no longer a Jet. That's tough," said Ryan, who refused to get into any specifics regarding Cotchery's departure.

"There's no doubt. He was a tremendous teammate and a guy I had a great deal of respect for, was just courageous. Anything we needed, the guy did for us.

"J-Co asked for a trade or to be released, and that's what happened. You hate to see great people leave your building, and we've had some."

Before saying goodbye, Cotchery reflected on his time with the team that drafted him in the fourth round in 2004.

"I love being a Jet," he said. "The main thing now is just focusing on moving forward. I'm healthy and ready to play football. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to work out. Everyone wants that dream scenario where they play their entire career with one team. But it doesn't happen that often."

Sanchez said he spoke with Cotchery earlier this week and tried to get him to change his mind.

"It wasn't a surprise," Sanchez said. "I talked to J-Co a little bit about it. But it was a surprise when I first heard it . . . and my conversation with him, I'd like to keep private. But that's somebody who I really look up to, still do, and one of the best teammates I've ever had. I was just a little disappointed that he's gone now.

"But at the same time, we still have one goal and we need to do what's best for the team, and he wanted to do what's best for him, and that's just fine. So we'll move on and wish him the very best."