Eagles QB Vick may be out a month
PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is expected to be sidelined for up to a month after re-injuring his left hamstring in Sunday's 15-7 loss to the New York Giants.
Vick, who initially suffered the injury in Week 5, missed two games, then returned Sunday. He lasted only four possessions before he felt something "pop"' in the back of his leg after being chased out of the pocket.
That leaves rookie Matt Barkley and Nick Foles as candidates to start this week's game at Oakland against the Raiders (3-4). But Foles still has not been cleared after suffering a concussion two weeks ago.
Asked who would start Sunday if Foles is cleared in the next few days, coach Chip Kelly said: "When I get all the information on the health of our quarterbacks, I'll tell you who our starting quarterback is going to be.
"If Nick is cleared, that's another discussion we have to have. Until we get all the information about it, then we'll make a determination of where we are. If Nick is not cleared and Mike is out, we only have one quarterback and will have to do something (for a backup)."
The Eagles have quarterback G.J. Kinne on their practice squad. If Vick and Foles cannot play this week, they probably would sign Kinne to their 53-man roster and have him back up Barkley.
Barkley played OK Sunday against the Giants, given that he took no first-team snaps last week. He completed 17-of-26 passes for 158 yards with no touchdown or interceptions, but had a costly red-zone fumble at the 2-yard line.
"I don't think Matt played poorly," Kelly said. "He made a bad decision at the end of the first half. He knows he made a mistake. We have to chalk it up from there.
"There were some positive that I myself, all our coaches, when you look at the tape, that you can get from Matt's performance that you can really build on.
"I think he has a good understanding of what we're doing. He puts the ball on people, gave the guys a chance to run after the catch. I think he's got a bright future."
Barkley, a rookie who was drafted in the fourth round out of USC, has never started an NFL game.
