Plaxico Burress is a professional football player that plays wide receiver in the NFL. During his playing career in both college and the NFL he has been very successful. However it is not entirely his pass catching ability that makes him noteworthy.

Plaxico started his playing at Michigan State University, where he was a standout right away, setting a Big Ten Record for receptions in a season at 65 in his first year. From there, he was a two time all-Big Ten player and a second team All-American. That was good enough for him to be drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the eighth pick in the 2000 NFL draft. He continued to excel with the Steelers for five years before leaving via free agency to play for the New York Giants. While playing for the Giants Plaxico was instrumental in the Giants drive to win the Super Bowl in 2008.

The problem with Plaxico is not how he plays the game, it is his off the field legal matters. Plaxico just can’t seem to keep himself out of court, having been sued nine times since he joined the Steelers in 2000 for various things like breach of contract and hitting another car and not having auto insurance. But the biggest problem was in November, 2008, when Plaxico accidentally shot himself in the leg with a gun that was in his waistband. This has led the Giants to outright release Plaxico and move forward without him.

If Plaxico can just straighten up and stay out of legal trouble, he could be a valuable asset for any football team. But the way he is right now, he is more of a liability to any team and not likely to be signed until he can prove he can stay out of the courts and jail.