There still are some rocks that should be left undisturbed, because what's beneath them can be very unsightly.

A case in point occurred Sunday, when word leaked out that the Jets had made a preliminary inquiry about troubled wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who is still facing possible prison time for a gun-possession charge.

The Jets confirmed the inquiry in a statement from Tannenbaum, who noted that asking about Burress was "consistent with our normal approach of performing our due diligence."

Yes, that due diligence helped land the Jets future hall of famer Brett Favre last August, and highly touted prospect Mark Sanchez on Saturday. But even though they still lack a starting wideout to pair with Jerricho Cotchery, looking any further at Burress would be a mistake.

For all the wondrous things he can do on the field, Burress is a constant problem off the field, and that was obvious even before he shot himself in the leg in November. He reportedly had been fined 40 to 50 times for various transgressions before coach Tom Coughlin finally suspended him for one game. Coach Rex Ryan will bring his squad to Cortland, N.Y., this summer to "build team unity," as the Jets have phrased it, and Burress is an expert at ignoring team unity. Even Terrell Owens, whom the Jets didn't consider before he signed with Buffalo, is less of a problem.

The Jets still have that gaping hole at wide receiver, and while Ryan and Tannenbaum say it can be filled from within, they also indicated for two months that they were happy with their current quarterbacks before trading up to draft Sanchez.

If they are unable to find that player on the current roster, again it will be up to Tannenbaum and his due diligence to find some veteran off the scrap heap later this summer, perhaps somebody trimmed in another team's cost-cutting move. But even that is better than Burress.