Twenty months away from a football field is a long time for an NFL player. When you spend most of those 20 months in jail, it can seem even longer.
But on Thursday, the wait for Plaxico Burress, the newest member of the New York Jets receiving corps, was finally over.
It was time to officially start practicing; to show his new team that it did not make a mistake in signing him to a one-year, $3 million contract ($3,017,000 to be exact).
It was time, but, as it turns out, the Jets are going to have to wait a little bit longer to see their 6-foot-5 acquisition in action.
According to a report by ESPN.com's Rich Cimini, Burress rolled his ankle while working out and trying to stay sharp, and so he had to sit out of Thursday's practice.
ESPN's Rachel Nichols tweeted that Plaxico "was running routes w/Santonio Holmes when he rolled his ankle. Swollen this a.m."
"This is not a major injury," head coach Rex Ryan said, according to the report. The coach believes Burress will only miss "one or two days."
While under normal circumstances, a rolled ankle that causes a player to miss a day or two would not be a problem, these are not normal circumstances the Jets and Burress (and the whole NFL, for that matter) find themselves in. The wideout is coming off a long football hiatus, entering a new system, and he is doing so under major time constraints, thanks to the NFL lockout.
Add up all of those factors, and one or two days can seem a lot more like one or two weeks.
Good thing Burress is a pro at waiting — he's been doing it since Nov. 23, 2008 (the last time he played an NFL game).
