Vick return looking more likely
Michael Vick(notes) may be on the verge of getting a shot to return to the NFL, though any chance of him playing quarterback right away may be limited, at best.
Two sources close to Vick confirmed multiple reports Thursday evening that Vick met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for several hours Wednesday in New Jersey. ESPN also reported that Vick will be allowed to sign with a team that's interested, but will likely have to serve a four-game suspension once the season begins.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello indicated that reports of any reinstatement and subsequent suspension are premature.
"The commissioner has not made a decision," Aiello wrote in an email on Thursday. "These reports are pure guesswork. As far as the reported meeting, we have been consistent in not commenting on the review process while it is taking place. … This is a serious matter. We are engaging in a careful and thoughtful process and no decisions have been made."
As for the meeting, the aforementioned sources said it appeared to go favorably. One source said Goodell was "positive but stern" when talking to Vick, and indicated that the quarterback will be allowed to sign with a team before training camp.
A four-game suspension would come on top of the two full seasons Vick has missed while serving a 23-month sentence in federal custody after pleading guilty in 2007 to charges related to dogfighting. Most importantly, it will give teams interested in Vick a chance to assess how much he will be available and how to use him. Consequently though, it would practically eliminate any chance of Vick immediately becoming a starting quarterback.
"I don't think it was realistic to think anybody was going to make [Vick] a starting quarterback right away," an unnamed NFL team executive said. "Between the two years he missed and the circus he's going to create, it's just about impossible … [but] now, there's no doubt and that's probably good for [Vick] and the league."
Vick, the No. 1 overall pick of the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL draft, must now find a suitor. Though several teams have been speculated in connection to Vick this year, the executive said his best chance would be to sign with a team that has an established quarterback.
Teams such as the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers might fit that bill because both have well-established quarterbacks that Vick wouldn't be able to unseat. Furthermore, both have fan bases that would be accepting of the team taking a chance on Vick.
"You better have fans who are behind you and trust you," the executive said. "If it's a questionable situation, Vick could really blow up the whole situation. You'd have a coach on the hot seat and the players could split if the team isn't winning and some guys think Vick should be playing.
"It could get ugly in a hurry. … If Vick is smart, he goes to a team where he won't be the high-profile guy. Yeah, you're not going to avoid the attention, but that will die down eventually and then he can get back to just playing. But if he's playing a lot, like starter downs, it's going to be hard to handle everything."
Vick, released by the Falcons in June, led Atlanta to the NFC championship game in the 2004 season and was once the top-paid player in the NFL.
However, Vick's career and life came crashing down after it was discovered that he was funding a dog-fighting operation out of a home he owned in rural Virginia. Vick denied the allegations for months until his associates in the operations eventually testified against him.
