Last season, Plaxico Burress played through a torn ligament in his ankle, a badly sprained knee, a torn tendon in his pinkie and a separated shoulder.
Oh, and two chronically flat feet.
Burress, who yesterday did light work in practice for the second time since training camp opened, revealed the reason he has been instructed to wear orthotics in his cleats and all his shoes.
It's because, while he was blessed with a long frame, incredible leaping ability and good, long-striding speed, he received foot arches that aren't as curved as they should be. That's apparently part of the reason he's been battling ankle issues recently.
And it's why he's now hurting on his soles after practicing in a limited capacity Tuesday and yesterday.
"My feet are really sore from the orthotics because that's the first time I've actually run and played in them for just a little bit,"
Burress said. "It'll take some time for me to get used to it and kind of break them in, so to speak. Once I get past that stage, I think everything will be downhill from there."
Downhill as in more comfortable feet and ankles, not worse production.
Burress said the orthotics are designed to keep his feet in a proper position while he's running. It's an issue NHL star Peter Forsberg had during his time with the Flyers two years ago. Forsberg continuously experienced ankle problems because his foot wasn't sitting properly in his boot. The issue kept him out of the league for most of last season as he searched for the right insert to alleviate his pain.
Burress can only hope the orthotics he's using will be more effective now that he's actually wearing them.
"It came up maybe two or three months ago,"
he said of the doctors' orders to wear them. "I got them fitted for my shoes and things like that. They've been telling me for a while I probably need to try them out. I've just been running naturally for so long, I didn't want to try them.
"Being what I went through last year, I thought it would be a good time to try them out."
Burress wasn't wearing orthotics before camp when he was running to get himself in shape. He tweaked his ankle and was sidelined for the first 22 practices (and a walk-through) here until suiting up on Tuesday night to do some light work.
Yesterday, Burress did more of the same, as he jogged with the offense and participated in individual drills. During the team and 7-on-7 passing portions of practice, Burress stood on the side and watched.
"It's a step in the right direction,"
coach Tom Coughlin said.
And it's a step toward being ready to play Sept. 4 against the Redskins in the regular-season opener. Burress said yesterday he will be ready to play, which has never been a question.
The only question was whether or not he'd be completely healthy.
"If I'm not, I'll be pretty close. I'll be a lot further along than I was last year,"
Burress said. "The more I rest, the more I take care of my ankle and take care of myself, I'll be closer to a hundred percent. If I'm not a hundred, I'll be 95, 96, which I'll definitely take."
Okay, but wouldn't one hit or twist of his ankle knock that number back down to 60 or 70? Maybe not if Burress continues to wear orthotics and continue strengthening the joint.
"When I get healthy, don't just go away from it; stay on top of it and make sure it doesn't have any flare-ups or anything like that,"
Burress said. "With me going out and playing, I know there are going to be times where I'm going to jam it or get tackled or things like that. I know it's going to happen. I'm trying to prevent those things from happening by getting it as strong as it can possibly get and me getting back to being myself."
As for wanting a new contract, Burress again believes something will be coming soon. General manager Jerry Reese said earlier this week he's confident the team will reach an agreement with Burress, who will be paid $3.25 million this season -- far below the $9 million-a-year deals Randy Moss and Terrell Owens have.
"Jerry said what he said,"
Burress said, "so I think it'll happen."
