ALBANY, N.Y. — Plaxico Burress' decision to plead guilty to a weapons charge and accept two years in prison surprised his former New York Giants teammates and left at least one claiming the Super Bowl star was punished too severely.

Browns receiver Donte' Stallworth served 30 days in jail for running over and killing a man while driving drunk. Former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick served 18 months in prison for torturing animals and running a dogfighting ring for years.

Burress shot himself in the leg, but he was illegally carrying a gun in a nightclub when he did it.

"I think they wanted to set an example, which sucks," Giants receiver Steve Smith said. "He did something to himself. He didn't hurt anybody else."

Roughly 18 months after Burress caught the game-winning pass in the Super Bowl and nine months after accidentally shooting himself in a Manhattan night club, he pleaded guilty in a New York City court on Thursday to one count of attempted criminal possession of a weapon.

Burress, who faced a minimum of 3 1/2 years in prison if convicted at trial, instead agreed to a two-year prison term and must serve at least 20 months. He will be formally sentenced on Sept. 22.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has waged a long campaign against illegal guns, had publicly castigated Burress for carrying his .40-caliber weapon.

Burress' attorney, Benjamin Brafman, called the case "a perfect example about how bad judgment can have very serious consequences" and said Burress was treated more harshly because he is a celebrity.

"If Plaxico Burress were not a high-profile individual, there never would be a case," he said. "If he were just John Q. Public, he could have walked out of the club and he never would have been arrested."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Burress on Thursday afternoon, informing him that he is ineligible to sign with any team until he completes his jail term.

Burress' former teammates clearly were not expecting him to face substantial prison time over the incident.

"My heart kind of dropped, obviously," Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Tuck said after hearing of Burress' plea agreement. "I think sometimes you think about situations like that and it's bound to happen sometime, soon. But once it does happens, it catches you by surprise. Today, when I heard the news, my heart went out to him and his family."

Receiver Sinorice Moss seemed to be caught off guard when he heard of Burress' plea while walking into the cafeteria for lunch between practices at the University at Albany. Moss started to talk about the last nine months, saying how tough they have been for the players and how everyone was concerned about Burress.

Suddenly, he stopped.

"I'm speechless, man," Moss said. "I can't think of anything to say right now, just hearing this. Plax is a good friend of mine and I've spoken to him a lot since his departure from the team. I just wish him the best. They made the decision on what he had to do, and I just wish him well."

Giants chief executive John Mara called Burress' fall from the heights of a Super Bowl title to admitting his guilt in court a "tragedy."

"He was a part of the family and I know that a lot of players are hurting right now just thinking about it because he was a friend to them, but as I said I hope it's a wake-up call for some of them," Mara said. "I hope they've all learned a lesson that making a bad choice and using bad judgment can cost you your career and can cause you having to go to prison.

"It's just a terrible situation when you think about what he threw away by doing what he did. All that talent and he had a brand new contract with a brand new baby, it just really is an American tragedy," Mara said.

Former Steelers teammate Hines Ward called the latest turn for Burress a sad situation.

"He's a great talent, and you hate to see a talent like that end up (making) a bad decision," Ward said. "It's sad, and I hope he gets through it. Maybe he'll get another chance, we'll see."

Speaking at the Steelers camp in Latrobe, Pa., Ward sounded more like the teammate who often led Burress by the hand.

"It's all maturity, growing up," Ward said. "I'm sure if he had it back, he'd make a different decision.

"But we'll always be there for him. He's still a great guy. It's a shame when a talent like that isn't in the NFL. It's an unfortunate incident."