Source: NFL reinstates Plaxico Burress

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Wide receiver Plaxico Burress has been reinstated as a player in the NFL by commissioner Roger Goodell, a source said.

Burress was recently released from jail after serving close to two years on a gun-related incident in New York City. He plans to meet with Giants coach Tom Coughlin on Friday night and then could head to Pittsburgh to meet with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, sources told ESPN NFL senior analyst Chris Mortensen.

Burress is allowed to start visiting teams as early as 6 p.m. ET Friday.

The Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets also have expressed varying degrees of interest in Burress, according to sources.

Burress traveled to New York on Tuesday night via a private jet courtesy of billionaire Seth Bernstein, who is serving as an unofficial broker between the wide receiver and the Giants, sources said. Bernstein is CEO of Empower Software Solutions and is a friend of Giants co-owner Steve Tisch.

Giants co-owner John Mara stressed Thursday that the team is a "long ways" from a Burress reunion.

"The question is are we going to be able to move past the past and are we going to be able to live with each other moving forward," Mara, the team's CEO and co-owner, said in an interview with Mike Lupica on ESPN New York 1050. "That is going to be up to him, it is going to be up to the coach, general manager and then we got to get to the salary considerations."

The Giants have talked of paying Burress in the range of $10.5 million over two years -- approximately 60 percent in salary and bonuses, with the balance to be earned on playing-time and performance incentives. Terms remain negotiable and the second year may be an option year, sources said.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. Information from ESPNNewYork.com's Mike Mazzeo was used in this report.

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John Clayton

NFL senior writer

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• Senior NFL writer and commentator
• Joined ESPN in 1995
• Member of the writers' wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio