Is Vick Back?

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Eyeing return to NFL, Vick will begin workouts after prison release
Steve Wyche By Steve Wyche | NFL.com
Senior Writer

Suspended quarterback Michael Vick will begin working with a trainer and start football-related workouts shortly after being released from prison next week, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Vick will finish the final two months of his 23-month federal sentence on dogfighting charges under home confinement in Hampton, Va. He has been imprisoned in Leavenworth, Kan., since fall of 2007 after pleading guilty to funding an interstate dogfighting operation that was based at a home he owned in Surry County, Va.

Vick, who is still a member of the Atlanta Falcons, hopes to return to the NFL as soon as possible. Getting back in shape and trying to regain some of the skills that could have subsided while he was out of the game is part of the process. Vick will be put through conditioning and passing workouts and is said to have plenty of people who have committed to running passing routes for him, the source said.

Vick will not immediately jump into the workouts upon his return, according to the source. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback will keep a low profile and reconnect with his family in Hampton, which is located near his hometown of Newport News. He will follow all legal guidelines, which are still being finalized, in order to fulfill his obligation for a July release.

Vick has been offered a construction job as part of a possible work-release program. He was supposed to help build homes for Habitat for Humanity, but that deal fell apart weeks ago.

Vick, at some point, is expected to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, although the details of that meeting have yet to be determined. Vick remains indefinitely suspended and must prove to Goodell that he's worthy of reinstatement.

"Once Michael has concluded his legal proceedings, I will sit with Michael, his representatives and other professionals to understand all the circumstances," Goodell wrote in an NFL.com chat last month. "This will include: Has he learned from his horrific mistakes? Is he prepared to conduct himself in a positive fashion? And as such, continue a professional football career? Before I make my decision, it will be up to Michael to demonstrate the genuineness of his remorse and how he plans to be a positive influence."

Whether reinstatement happens in time for the 2009 season is unknown. An NFL spokesman said Friday that no meetings between Goodell and Vick have been scheduled, adding that Vick will have to apply for reinstatement but has yet to do so.

Meanwhile, the Falcons have said they are trying to trade Vick's rights, but that, as of now, there has been no interest.

Vick recently met with former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy to discuss Vick's past and future. The highly respected Dungy retired from coaching after the 2008 season, in part to help with his charitable and civic-based foundations and work with at-risk youths.

carter wrote:Catherine the Great said that about horses i think. I think she said it right before she jumped on and had some 'alone time'.

Still not sure if i believe she dug the horses though....

carter wrote:Problem is Ticky....there are far worse people in the NFL than a guy that abuses dogs. After all, Ray Lewis pretty much killed someone and never saw a day of jail...then there is OJ...



Innocent i tell ya!!!

ethan wrote:And I'll make the same point that I did earlier...cruelty to animals is awful, but even if you don't care about the dogs, you should care about the fact that animal cruelty is a strong indicator of willingness to harm humans.

carter wrote:Yeah it is a slippery slope statement and i don't want to come across as defending these sleeze bags, i personally think it could be one strike and you're out of the league. Football is not a game of irreplaceable players, it's not like soccer, basketball and baseball...it is more of a team game where guys can come in and play at high levels.

If these bums don't follow the rules of the US government, let them shovel **** for the rest of their lives. Let them know that they should have finished their fully paid for degrees from the USC's of the world.

ethan wrote:That's an absurd slippery slope argument and you know it.

cpschult wrote:

carter wrote:Yeah it is a slippery slope statement and i don't want to come across as defending these sleeze bags, i personally think it could be one strike and you're out of the league. Football is not a game of irreplaceable players, it's not like soccer, basketball and baseball...it is more of a team game where guys can come in and play at high levels.

If these bums don't follow the rules of the US government, let them shovel **** for the rest of their lives. Let them know that they should have finished their fully paid for degrees from the USC's of the world.

Like I said, it all depends on your perspective on things.

I'd think the only irreplaceable player might be the QB. And it only takes a few extra years to find one of those. It doesn't appear that the NFL holds players very accountable for their actions. It might have something to do with how much bargaining power the players have, on the other hand, it may have something to do with the fact that mo money, mo problems.

carter wrote:

cpschult wrote:

carter wrote:Yeah it is a slippery slope statement and i don't want to come across as defending these sleeze bags, i personally think it could be one strike and you're out of the league. Football is not a game of irreplaceable players, it's not like soccer, basketball and baseball...it is more of a team game where guys can come in and play at high levels.

If these bums don't follow the rules of the US government, let them shovel **** for the rest of their lives. Let them know that they should have finished their fully paid for degrees from the USC's of the world.

Like I said, it all depends on your perspective on things.

I'd think the only irreplaceable player might be the QB. And it only takes a few extra years to find one of those. It doesn't appear that the NFL holds players very accountable for their actions. It might have something to do with how much bargaining power the players have, on the other hand, it may have something to do with the fact that mo money, mo problems.

There are a couple of positions you would be hard pressed to replace but I think if the league wants to stay in good standing they would take the hard line stance.

BTW, i don't think you "owned" ethan on that post...JMO.

ethan wrote:I'm a vegetarian, but eating meat is still worlds away from pitting dogs against each other in a fight to the death. By your previous posts, I can tell that you're smart enough to know that you're taking the moral relativity argument a bit too far.

tictac wrote:I know there is an absurd amount of cruelty related to the meat industry. I am thinking about going vegetarian again soon. But whether or not someone eats meat is unrelated to their opinion on dog fighting. By the way, my name is Jessi, not Jessie.

cpschult wrote:one count of interstate travel to aid illegal gambling and dogfighting;
beating, killing or causing dogs to fight each other and promoting dogfighting

if he got the maximum sentence for all three charges it would be 15 years, 5 years per

Keep An Eye On Buffalo As A Mike Vick Destination
Posted by Mike Florio on May 19, 2009, 11:34 p.m.

John Clayton of ESPN.com recently listed four potential landing spots for Falcons quarterback Mike Vick, if he’s reinstated for the 2009 season.

Clayton’s unconfirmed quartet consists of the Rams, 49ers, Patriots, and Seahawks. (John apparently forgets that Jim Mora’s dad, Jim Mora, once called Vick a “coach killer.” So we’d scratch the Seahawks from the list.)

But here’s the real team to watch, in our view.

The Buffalo Bills.

The Bills want to win. Now. Whether it’s because owner Ralph Wilson is feeling a Leon Hess-style sense of urgency or whether coach Dick Jauron feels a Rich Kotite-style sense of urgency or a combination of both, the Bills are going all in.

They offered receiver Terrell Owens $6.5 million guaranteed at a time when no one else was willing to pay him $6.50.

And a league source tells us that the Bills made a very aggressive play for defensive end Jason Taylor immediately after Taylor was cut in March by the Redskins. In fact, the Bills were the very first team to pursue Taylor.

As to the potential backlash from signing Vick, consider the fans’ reaction to the arrival of T.O.

He’s already gotten the key to the freaking city.

So if any team can sell this transaction to their fans, it’s the Bills.

The other possibility, in our view, is Cincinnati. But not because the Bengals believe they could surive the local P.R. onslaught. The Bengals would potentially be interested in Vick because they don’t care about the P.R. onslaught.