Burress, who pleaded guilty in a New York City court on Thursday to one count of attempted criminal
possession of a weapon, agreed to a two-year sentence and will spend at least 20 months behind bars. The thought of their former teammate heading to the slammer is a difficult one for many current Giants players.
"My heart kind of dropped, obviously," Pro Bowl
defensive end Justin Tuck told the Associated Press after hearing of Burress' plea agreement. "I
think sometimes you think about situations like that and it's bound to happen
sometime soon. But once it does happens, it catches you by surprise. Today,
when I heard the news, my heart went out to him and his family."
Wide receiver Sinorice Moss couldn't find the words to describe what he was feeling.
"I'm speechless, man," Moss said. "I can't think of
anything to say right now, just hearing this. Plax is a good friend of mine and
I've spoken to him a lot since his departure from the team. I just wish him the
best. They made the decision on what he had to do, and I just wish him well."
Giants chief executive John Mara feels for his former receiver but hopes that this harsh reality wakes up some of the other players around the league.
"He was a part of the family and I know that a lot of
players are hurting right now just thinking about it because he was a friend to
them, but as I said I hope it's a wake-up call for some of them," Mara said. "I
hope they've all learned a lesson that making a bad choice and using bad
judgment can cost you your career and can cause you having to go to prison."
