Late this afternoon, the NFL announced that former Falcons QB Michael Vick — who served 23 months in a federal prison for his role in a dogfighting operation — has been conditionally reinstated and could play football by Week 6, or sooner, if he does what Commissioner Roger Goodell has outlined for him.
Roger Goodell
In an official release from the league office sent to the NFP, Goodell told Vick, “My decision at that time will be based on reports from outside professionals, your probation officer, and others charged with supervising your activities, the quality of your work outside football, the absence of any further adverse involvement in law enforcement, and other concrete actions that you take that are consistent with your representations to me.”
The release also said that former Colts head coach Tony Dungy has agreed to continue to mentor Vick.
Yes, there will be still be plenty of eyes on Vick from the league office to see how he progresses off the field — and if he should be fully reinstated — but as of now, Vick is a true free agent in the NFL and can sign with any team that is willing to wait. How long? Goodell said he would make a decision “by Week Six,” meaning he could decide sooner, based on Vick’s actions, whether to allow him to return.
Now, who wants him?
Before we start throwing out names, there’s something here that strikes me as beneficial from Vick’s perspective and his ability to play football — because right now, he is still an unknown in that we don’t know for sure what he’s capable of.
But by waiting until October to fully reinstate him to the league, a team could come in, sign Vick and see how he does in a camp. And the more I think about it, why not? Why wouldn’t you take that chance if you were interested and if you weren’t worried at the possible public backlash by having Vick in your uniform during camp?
APMichael Vick
The way I see it, Vick is in no way ready to walk onto a football field and play. He’s just not, and you can say all you want about his athletic ability, his cannon arm and his abnormal talent with a ball in his hands. But that takes time to redevelop. Sure, it isn’t gone by any means, but it has to be polished, it has to be worked on and, at this level, it has to be perfected to work.
And now, if given that opportunity, he has time to do that.
Time to build his conditioning, time to get into a new playbook (which will be huge for his comeback) and time to prove all of us wrong — and I’m including myself here — that he’s still capable of leading an offense from the quarterback position.
Trust me, I played against Vick in my career and was on the losing end of a absolute disaster of a beating his Falcons gave to my Packers in the first-ever home playoff loss at historic Lambeau Field once upon a time. He was, to put it mildly, unstoppable that night.
And that’s the point here. He had those skills, and he will have them again, just not today or tomorrow, or even a week from now. Time — valuable time that Vick hasn’t had for the past two years — is the key issue. And now he has it.
But is there a team willing to take that risk, which, if we think about it, may not be that big of a risk? I can’t imagine that he would demand top dollar on the open market — unless multiple teams get involved — and I can’t see a team actually handing out a deal that spans more than one season.
He will be on a trial basis with the commissioner and a team if he does end up in a camp this summer — almost on a trial basis to see what comes next.
Make no mistake about it: Vick is going to have to prove himself all over again in this league, but that is exactly the opportunity he’s getting by this recent news.
Now we just sit back and wait to see who that team is. Yes, he can play football again, but just like any free agent who’s sitting at home today, the phone still has to ring.
Would you call him? Because that’s exactly what 32 teams in the NFL are faced with right now.
Follow me on Twitter: MattBowen41
Jags... he can take Garrard's spot after another slow start and save the franchise... if we are playing Madden on XBox.
This guy won't make any plays this year, but if you can get him under a minimum deal contract I don't see the risk.
This is the same guy who lied in the face of the Commish, right?
He got off easy... should have been a year minimum.
Lucky, lucky, lucky....
Still think he heads to Oakland
Can't say that Vick wouldn't be a good backup plan if the Niners come out of camp with no answer at QB... He has over a month of camp to get his body into football shape, learn the playbook, and maybe act as a second option if Smith or Hill start the season slow.
As a Niner fan, I wouldn't have a problem watching him in a Niner uni
Teams where Vick would be the best QB on the roster by mid-season:
Washington, Minnesota if no Farve, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Buffalo, Miami, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Houston, Oakland, Denver.
I'll give a pass to rookies who are their teams QB of the future: Stafford, Sanchez and Freeman.
Two big questions here: which team and what kind of contract?
Obvious teams are Vikes, Redskins, TB, SF, Broncs and maybe Seattle, Bills and Browns. How rich they are prepared to go could be the determing factor, as Vick is in a tough financial spot. Maybe I'm crazy but if I'm his agent no way I'm talking one year or minimum deals. I'd sit and wait before I did that. This is a three time Pro Bowl player with an impressive winning percentage. Not the greatest QB rating or completion percentage, granted, but wouldn't you take him right now, no questions asked, over Stafford or Sanchez?
I predict a decent signing bonus, say 8-9 million, spread over a five or six year contract. Let the catcalls commence.
I wanted an actual list of teams that will be a good fit for vick from this article, not more generalizations about conditioning etc. Please, no more vick articles until we actually have more news or at least interesting speculation as to where he may go. Nothing personal, just a misleading title/sub-heading on the piece.
Silky-
There isn't a good fit for Vick right now.. what Matt said is exactly right. He isn't even ready to play.
I honestly don't think money will be the biggest issue. Everywhere Vick has been, the playbook had to be literally gutted due to the very dim bulb between his ears. His amazing physical gifts were counted on to the make up the difference. As we all saw, that was a mildly successful strategy, but ultimately wasn't going to bring home any trophies. But today, who is going to bring in a player like that (to be a QB) when he is NOT going to be the marquee player around which such an offense will be designed (or dumbed-down)? Yeah, I get the point that any team can just throw him in the pool and not be overly concerned if he sinks, but they're not going to pay much beyond the minimum to do so since he'll be adjusting to the team's system and not the other way around this time. To me, he should go play in the UFL since someone will be dumb enough to pay him $1M for a season, he can get himself back into some kind of playing form against inferior talent, and maybe play well enough against those scrubs to fool an NFL owner into throwing some cash at him next season. But for this season, (not in shape) + (rusty skills) + (missing up to 6 games) + (bad economy) + (fan reaction) = next to no interest.
I'm upset the suspension wasn't greater. I was hoping for a year, would be disappointed with 8 games, but to be allowed to participate with a team and only be suspended for game days? I assume with pay? Terrible.
I stand by my decision to boycott any game Vick is involved with (no TV, no internet, nothing). And also write letters to the owner of the team that signs him expressing my disappointment. I will boycott the products of any corporations involved with that particular team.
It's all I can do, and it may not make a difference, but I don't ever want to see Michael Vick in the NFL again.
Let's get real. Does anyone thing Vick signs for a one year minimum deal?
Name one team that wouldn't jump at that. You're looking at a decent bonus to sign him. There are five or six temas that have clearly worse QBs starting for htem. They'd be crazy not to max out to sign him. There are any number of other teams with shaky starters who would love to have him as a second option. If he and his agent are smart, they can milk this for a pretty big bonus.
I think all you guys saying he deserves a multi year contract are nuts.
This guy has shown ZERO remorse and a total inability to handle the press. He's spent 2 years in jail yet is unable to articulate publicly what he did wrong,.... probably because he doesn't quite understand.
Till otherwise shown, he's still thinking he's a Gangsta, Ron Mexico and a punk.
I'm betting the under on him for his next suspension.
He is in the Pacman fast lane to obscurity.
Great talent,.... complete A##hole.
I agree with you Snake... If Vick gets a multi-year deal what does that prove? It just adds to his ego and gives him more reason to think he has made it back already..
He has to prove himself again, right?
Having seen what Vick did to the Packers in the game MB mentioned, I can't imagine why people say he can't play. Football is a game where it is rare to see any one player take over a game and win it almost singlehandedly. Barry Sanders could do it, Joe Montana could do it, Bo Jackson is his prime could do it, Favre (with a little receiver help) could do it for a few years in the mid-90s. There are a few I'm missing of course, but it's a short list and on that day it wasn't the Falcons that beat the Packers, it was Vick. Put on that tape and ask any GM if the guy in that game is better than their backup QB and I suspect you would get 32 answers of 'yes' in a row.
As far as the 'dim bulb' bit, I wouldn't let Trent Dilfer take my LSATs and I don't think Troy Aikman was ever in any danger of becoming a Rhodes scholar. Most QBs need the offensive system to be tweaked to fit their abilities and liabilities--Miami didn't call a lot of keep passes during the last years of the Marino era.
Finally, Vick has a right to make a living. He did his hitch. Personally I find him loathsome, as I think animal cruelty is a particularly vile crime, but it's flat out un-American to argue that a guy with the once in a lifetime gifts he has shouldn't be allowed to use them to earn a paycheck. As I said on another post, I hope every interview he does with Suzy Kolber starts with 'So, kill any puppies lately?' but he's being punished in line with other players involved in egregious behavior.
Mr. Walker,
There is an ocean of difference between adjusting an offense to fit a given QBs strengths and weaknesses and completely gutting a playbook because a QB is literally too stupid to proficiently run it (as was the case at VT and with the Falcons). Not every QB that has played the game has been the equal of Stephen Hawking, but there is a minimum level of intelligence required to play the position and Vick has proven that he doesn't have it (along with VY). And as far as the Packer game, any athlete can take over a single game at any time. The problem with Vick was that just as often as he earned a W, he was also the reason the team lost. He simply was a well-below average passer, and no team will ever win a trophy if a guy like that is your best player. He was (and still is) all hype and no substance. And as far as having a "right to make a living", that does not include a right to play football in order to do so. There are plenty of other jobs that convicted felons are able to secure, so I would suggest that he try construction first when his short reunion with the NFL is over.
@ Bill - any player coming out of the offense run by Va Tech when Vick was there would need serious time to adjust to playing in the big leagues. After a few years playing for what had become a truly abysmal, dysfunctional franchise Vick made three Pro Bowls and took his team to the playoffs twice and once to the NFC championship game. If that's hype I know a lot of teams who wouldn't mind some hype.
As far as a 'right' to make a living, nobody has a 'right' to play in the NFL, but at the same time the NFL cannot punitively deny Vick the right to try to work there. No court would allow that, Vick is being suspended in line with the suspensions given to other players who have had serious problems with the law, and then he'll be given the (proper, just) opportunity to use his rare athletic skills to make a living. Which, as much as I find him repulsive, is as it should be.
Mr. Walker,
I wasn't just referring to Vick's inability to comprehend an NFL playbook since that problem also existed for him at VT. And I am not sure I would describe a Falcons team that was just two years removed from a Super Bowl when he arrived as "abysmal". There was plenty of talent of that team throughout Vick's tenure and it was not a case of him carrying the them to undeserved success, but rather him being woefully inconsistent from week to week and ultimately the reason for losing. A player like Vick doesn't have the talent to win out over a stretch of games (like a playoff), but only dominate for a single game or two before falling back to earth. That is the very antithesis of the ideal QB. Vick would never have won a title with his style and lack of consistency, two traits that will have GMs today less than anxious to throw some money and a roster spot at him.
You are also incorrect that NFL could not legally prevent him from playing. It is well within the collectively bargained terms with the union that the commissioner has the power to suspend players for lengths of time up to a permanent ban. And in a more broad sense, any business is well within it's rights to refuse to hire a convicted felon. Sure, a lawsuit would probably be filed, but ultimately the decision would be upheld.
If Vick lacks talent to the degree you mention, how did he make those three Pro Bowls, where 2/3s of the selection voting is players and coaches?
Re: employment. Incorrect. An employer can refuse to hire people for something like a felony conviction if a) they can argue successfully that a felony conviction makes it impossible to do the job and, b) they have a stated, regularly enforced policy based on that. That is, a bank can easily enforce a policy of refusing to hire anyone convicted of fraud. In the case of the NFL not only is there no such policy, plenty of previously convicted felons have and do play in the league. In fact, the NFL h as a policy specifically designed to deal with employees with legal problems which is probably pretty smart considering the Bengals are still in the league. Yes, the commissioner has latitude, but I'm sure he has talked to his lawyers who told him that if Leonard Little can kill a person while driving drunk and still play, it's going to be hard to convince a court Vick can't because he killed dogs.
Last time I checked, being elected to the Pro Bowl was not the reward for being smarter than other players at your position. It's a popularity contest and players and coaches are just like the public with regard to voting for the high profile names once they are done voting for their own players. Besides, you give far too much weight to Pro Bowl selections which have never been an accurate measure of talent or achievement. All-Pro selections are significantly more indicative of greatness and Vick has never even been on the second team.
Yes, you are technically right about employing felons, but in actual practice businesses are given wide latitude to exclude almost any felon from almost any type of job, even if they are seemingly unrelated. And while the league has no history of banning a player for life due to criminal conduct, the argument can easily be made that the Vick case has no historical parallel, not to mention that whatever Goodell's predecessors did by way of punishments is not strictly binding when considering future infractions.
I'm upset the suspension wasn't greater. I was hoping for a year, would be disappointed with 8 games, but to be allowed to participate with a team and only be suspended for game days? I assume with pay? Terrible.
I stand by my decision to boycott any game Vick is involved with (no TV, no internet, nothing). And also write letters to the owner of the team that signs him expressing my disappointment. I will boycott the products of any corporations involved with that particular team.
It's all I can do, and it may not make a difference, but I don't ever want to see Michael Vick in the NFL again.
I have made my thoughts known in other Vick articles here, and still stand by them. If he is signed by a team, they do not pay him game checks for being suspended deljzc, sorry that is just not using your noodle.
I wrote on a Vick article quite sometime back on who I thought he might play for. This is the only place I have seen him going to Jacksonville though, so do not think he is going there.Guess I will end being wrong as he is not going to play for the Rams, and odds are he is not going to play RB for the Browns either. He is really starting to run out of options though, as so many teams have said no. But when qbs start going down or not producing in couple of weeks, his phone will ring, and he will sign, and he will play football again. People really need to quit ripping on him, and let him get his life back on track. If he messes up, then rip him.
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Jul 27, 2009
05:18 PM
Was at that Packers-Falcons game at Lambeau... brutal night.
Why this guy isn't suspended for the entire season is beyond me. I guess jail time is looked at as suspension time in the NFL.
Will Plax get the same treatment after his sentence?