Tuesday, August 21, 2007

From Don Banks -

Before he would let our conversation end, the veteran personnel evaluator made
one more point, and said it was something he thought a lot of people within NFL
circles have felt as Vick's long, sordid dogfighting saga has played out the past four months.
"I don't know what's going to happen to Michael Vick, and I don't care,'' he said, slowly and with emphasis. "The guy has embarrassed the NFL and embarrassed the game that a lot of us care about greatly. He's not worth any more time and energy and attention. It's his problem now.''

Banks in his article at si.com talked to a number of personnel people around the NFL about Vick's future in the NFL based on speculation that the earliest Vick could return would be for the 2009 season - really a best case scenario for Vick. There's a fair chance he could receive a lifetime ban from the NFL for the gambling aspect of his recent issues.

Realistically, I'm guessing a two year suspension which can only be served while he is on a roster. Assuming he remains on the Atlanta roster until June so they can minimize the salary cap hit, we're probably looking at ten games this season before he starts his jail term which will eat into next season. That means Vick will likely still be looking at 22 games - and that's only if he can get onto a roster, a team that is willing carry close to a season and a half of dead money before this guy can play. That would be after a four season layoff.

At best, he would come back as a back-up quarterback, or maybe a wide-receiver or running back. I doubt anyone would consider one of the statistically worst quarterbacks in the league for a starter after a four year layoff. But there's a chance someone might look at him for another position.

But who would take a flyer?

The following teams are unlikely to take him due to being set at QB and because Vick doesn't fit what the team does - or his reputation for not being a hard worker will also hurt him with the following -

Patriots - QB
Jets - not a hard enough worker for Mangini and probably are set at QB
Colts - QB
Bengals - QB
Chargers - QB
Saints - QB
Seahawks - QB
Packers - Green Bay just plain won't accept him
Rams - QB
Falcons - Arthur Blank will have burned that bridge
Giants - Mara family unlikely to take a flyer on Vick
Steelers - Ditto for the Rooneys

The following recently addressed QB issues and hope they won't have to address the position in four years -

Raiders
Browns
Redskins
Cowboys
Eagles
49ers
Cardinals
Texans
Chiefs
Broncos
Titans
Bills
Dolphins
Vikings

Teams that might be in most need of help at the QB position, or might address it between now and then -

Jaguars
Panthers
Ravens
Lions
Bears
Buccaneers

Personally, I think that the suspension will operate like a scarlet letter. No one is going to want to invest money in a player that can't earn the money for a year and a half. It's why no team, no matter how deficient on defense, has signed Tank Johnson.

A lot of people are speculating that Vick will one day return to the league, but I think that the suspension is tantamount to the end of his career. I wonder if he actually has enough saved up to sustain himself while he finishes his degree. If not, I think he needs to get used to the words, "would you like fries with that?"

1 comment:

sugarshane024 said...

Really good post. I think Vick may have run himself out of the league much like Ricky Williams is still in the process of doing.

One of the great potential future scenarios is pulling up to a McDonald's drive-thru and having Michael Vick serve you your fries. I just hope that there won't be parts of a dog mixed in.