NFL odds: Plax to Giants: I'll be at camp

Earlier this month, Giants receiver Plaxico Burress skipped the team’s minicamp and vowed never to practice again until he got a contract more indicative of his standing as one of the NFL’s best receivers.

Burress has three years remaining on the deal he signed with the Giants as a free agent prior to the 2005 season. He's scheduled to make $3.25 million this season and a total of $7.25 million in the next two years. But after big deals for Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Javon Walker, Burress wants a raise.

But he also wants to stay in New York.

"I don't want to go anywhere. I made that very evident," Burress said. "If I wanted to go somewhere else or if I didn't want to be there, I would have let that be known, too.”

While Burress undoubtedly is underpaid comparatively speaking, he now says there’s “no question” he will be at and participate in training camp, which begins July 25.

"I'm getting good feedback," Burress said about a new deal. "I think it's going to get done. I'm not concerned about it. I just want to make sure I'm here for a long time."

Burress played last season with ailments that included a severe ankle injury, a torn ligament in his pinkie, a separated shoulder and a sprained knee suffered days before the Super Bowl. But he says he is about 100 percent healthy.“I’m feeling pretty good,” Burress reports. “The knee is 100%, shoulder is 100%. My pinkie will be what it is. My ankle is probably 90%. I am expecting to be full speed in camp. I’m not going to make a prediction of what I can put up but if I’m healthy, all I can tell people is to watch out.”

To say the Giants need a healthy, happy Burress is an understatement. He caught the winning touchdown in the upset of the Pats, was the best player on the field in the NFC title game against the Packers and is far and away the team’s top offensive threat. It also will help the Giants to minimize the circus that will undoubtedly follow the team at camp because of outspoken and unhappy Jeremy Shockey.

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