Plaxico Burress

AFC Notes: Titans, Dolphins, Ravens, Steelers

Let’s take a look at some rumblings from around the AFC to wrap up this Thursday night…

  • The Titans hope to keep linebacker Kamerion Wimbley but are apprehensive about his high salary, tweets Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com.
  • The current quandary between the Titans and Chris Johnson is similar to what the team went through with Steve McNair in 2006, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. That offseason, the team attempted to trade their quarterback but couldn’t find any suitors. McNair “forced” the issue by showing up for offseason workouts, which the Titans prevented him from attending. McNair filed a grievance, which he eventually won.
  • Since the Dolphins don’t have to pay a franchise quarterback, the team is currently in “the golden years” with their cap, tweets James Walker of ESPN. As Walker points out, they’ll eventually have to pay someone at the position (whether it’s Ryan Tannehill or somebody else). As a result, this is the time to take advantage of the flexibility (via Twitter).
  • If the Ravens were to address two more positions in free agency, it would likely be tight end and a backup defensive lineman, writes Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Hensley suggests that the tight end could be Ed Dickson on a cheap deal.
  • Wide receiver is one of the Steelers‘ biggest needs, opines Scott Brown of ESPN.com, and the team will likely add to their depth via the draft. Brown adds that the team could consider reuniting with Plaxico Burress, but also adds that he can’t see the team adding another veteran wideout after inking Lance Moore to a deal.

Plaxico Burress Wants To Continue Playing

Veteran wide receiver Plaxico Burress was said to be mulling retirement, but that no longer appears to be the case. The former Steelers star told ESPN’s Outside The Lines that he believes he still has more football ahead of him, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Sulia).

I believe I do. I am rehabbing three or four days a week and I may go out and give it one more big push and that is the competitor in me,” said the 36-year-old, who added that he’s also working on his own business venture at the same time.

Burress did not appear in a regular season game with Pittsburgh in 2013 and probably won’t be back with the Steelers in 2014. Burress’ last productive year was with the Jets in 2011 when he hauled in 45 catches for 612 yards with eight TDs. Of course, the veteran lost years of his career thanks to his infamous gun incident.

AFC North Notes: Taylor, Burress, Spagnuolo

Ike Taylor has been the Steelers’ top corner for a number of years, but Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Sulia link) believes he could be released this offseason. With a salary of $7MM and a cap hit of close to $13.9MM, the best case scenario Dulac envisions is the long time Steeler taking a big pay cut to stay with the team. Here is other news from around the AFC North:

  • Former Steelers receiver Plaxico Burress is reportedly mulling retirement, according to Kyle Meinke of mlive.com. “We’ll see how I feel,” Burress said. “If I don’t (feel healthy), I’m very satisfied with things in this business. I’m not just going to go out there and risk my physical health, just to go out and prove people wrong.” Burress did not appear in a regular season game for the Steelers last year, and was unlikely to be with the team in 2014.
  • The Ravens have hired former Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo as their secondary coach, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Spagnuolo came to fame as the coordinator of the great Giants’ defense that stopped the 2007 Patriots’ bid for a perfect season. He was also named assistant head coach. The Ravens also hired Brian Pariani as their tight ends coach, previously the tight ends coach for the Texans.
  • The Browns were reportedly turned off by Gary Kubiak‘s contract demands, writes Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com. He allegedly asked to be “head coach of the offense”. Kubiak went on to be hired as the offensive coordinator of the Ravens, replacing Jim Caldwell.