NFL news: Plaxico Burress says playing for the Jets felt like being in prison

For New York Jets fans, watching their favorite team on Sundays over the last 16 years has been a form of torture. Apparently, the feeling isn’t much different for the players.

Super Bowl champion Plaxico Burress spent 20 months in prison after infamously shooting himself in the thigh with a gun he was carrying illegally at a Manhattan nightclub during the 2008 season while playing for the New York Giants. Burress signed with the Jets in 2011 and said the feeling behind bars was similar to when he suited up for Gang Green.

“They’re both kind of similar because when I walked into prison my first day, I was like, ‘Damn, man, you are a f—ing loser,” Burress said during a recent appearance on “The Joint Venture Show.”

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New York Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress warms up before a game against the San Diego Chargers at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 23, 2011. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

“And I had the same damn feeling every day I walked through the door with the Jets. I was like, ‘Damn I hope we can win this weekend.’ Loser.”

Burress was on top of the world after catching the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII, helping the Giants topple the undefeated New England Patriots. In the 2007 season, he caught 60 passes for 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns in 16 games.

After that season, he signed a five-year, $35 million contract extension with the Giants.

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New York Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress scores a touchdown against Oakland Raiders cornerback Chimdi Chekwa during the fourth quarter of their NFL game in Oakland, Calif., on Sept. 25, 2011. (REUTERS)

He was an integral part of the 2008 Giants team, which was 10-1 and the favorites to go back to the Super Bowl. He caught 35 passes for 454 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games before shooting himself in the leg.

After getting out of prison, he signed with the Jets on a one-year, $3 million contract. In 16 games, he caught 45 passes for 612 yards and eight touchdowns for a Jets team that went 8-8 and missed the playoffs.

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New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress caught the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Giants beat the New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008. (MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

He played one more season with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2012, appearing in just four games before retiring after the season.

In his career, Burress played in 148 games, catching 553 passes for 8,499 yards and 64 touchdowns.

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