By ROY CUMMINGS
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TAMPA – Monday is a big day for troubled wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

If all goes well inside a New York courtroom his trial on gun charges could be put off until at least September. That, in turn, could open the door for Burress to return to the NFL sometime this year.

Burress may soon find, though, that not every team that was supposedly interested in opening its door to him is still willing to give him that second chance he’s looking for.

It seems the Buc, in particular, may be losing interest in the former Giant.

Though Buc Coach Raheem Morris sounds a lot like a guy who would like to have Burress on his team, there is a feeling inside One Buc Place that adding Burress may be a step in the wrong direction.

The Buc have seldom hesitated to give a player with a troubled past a second chance, but it’s clear there is a faction inside the organization that believes signing Burress may be going too far.

Of course, this may all be immaterial anyway.

There’s a lot of talk now that Burress’ real desire is to play for the Jets, and one must consider the role in this matter of the NFL, which must first decide whether to penalize Burress for his conduct and then to what degree.

Burress has not played since last Nov. 29, when he accidentally shot himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub while trying to gain control of a handgun that was slipping down his pants.

He was arraigned a few days later on two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a loaded and unlicensed weapon, which carries a minimum jail sentence of 3 ½ years.

Burress age and that potential jail sentence may be a big part of the Buc line of thinking. After all, Burress will turn 32 before the season starts and if he’s convicted on the gun charges, the team that signs him may only get him for one season.

Or it could be the Buc are simply getting out of the business of signing players who have recently had seruious run-ins with the law. After all, they’ve made it crystal clear they have no interest in signing Michael Vick.