You know I'm scrambling for material when I make the future of a multiple-concussed Mike Vick the topic…
No one knows for sure yet where Vick will play in 2013…or whether he will play at all. One thing's for sure—Vick wants to play quarterback, and he wants to start.
Vick is unlikely to return to the Eagles in 2013. A lot of that depends upon who comes in to coach the team and how much money the Eagles would be willing to pay Vick to stick around as a back-up at QB.
But it appears to me Vick is headed elsewhere. His 3-year run as a leader of the Eagles offense is over.
Funny, but as I watched the New York Jets offense bumble and stumble all night against the Titans on MNF, and saw Rex Ryan walking off the field talking to himself, I had a premonition that Vick is the tonic that the Jets offense could use, at least to start off their season next year. Let Mark Sanchez back up Vick…and don't worry, Mark, you'll get your fair share of starts sooner than later.
It would seem a good fit. Vick would at least get the Jets out of what JB-Sage calls that "slow boat down a lazy river" rut their offense has been mired in for years.
Vick knows he won’t be getting any more snaps with the Eagles in 2012 unless Foles gets hurt.
“By not playing, I don’t think that will affect my future (in the NFL),” Vick said. “I’ve come back strong, I’m healthy, I’m ready to go. I’m still confident in my abilities. I always feel I’m one of the best (quarterbacks in the league). I know I can still play this game at a high level."
“(Being a backup) is tough, but that’s just the way things are right now. I just have to deal with it. I just have to continue to work hard and continue to help Nick. That’s my job as a leader on this football team.”
Vick faces an uncertain future. If the 32-year-old wants to stay with the Eagles as Foles’ backup, he would need to accept a drastic paycut. Vick is scheduled to make $15 million next season as part of the six-year, $100 million contract he signed with the Eagles last year. If the Eagles cut him before this season’s Super Bowl, they will not owe him anything. Cutting him in the spring would mean giving him a $3 million going-away present.
Vick refused to speculate beyond this season, but made it clear that he wants the opportunity to be a starter again. He figures to have no shortage of suitors, given the slew of teams — Arizona, Jacksonville, Minnesota, New York Jets, Oakland and Tampa Bay, among others — with unsettled quarterback situations.
“After the season, I’ll have to talk with my agent (Joel Segal) and see what’s next,” Vick said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I just feel like I have a lot of football left. I feel like I’ve got a lot left in my tank.”
Vick led the Eagles to the playoffs in 2010 and made the Pro Bowl, but has struggled with consistency, turnovers and injuries. Last season, he threw a career-high 14 interceptions and missed three games with broken ribs. Upon describing this year’s team as a potential dynasty, he committed 14 turnovers (nine interceptions, five lost fumbles) in eight games before getting hurt against the Cowboys.
Although he left that game after getting hit by Cowboys linebacker Ernie Sims, Vick admitted Monday that he actually was injured a few plays earlier. “I only know one way to play this game,” Vick said. “If I can get up, I’ll get up and try to keep playing. I tried to stay out there, but after I knew I had to come out because I couldn’t see.”
Since becoming the starter early in 2010, he missed 12 total games with a variety of injuries, including broken ribs and his recent concussion. Before getting hurt this season, he absorbed dozens of hits while playing behind a makeshift offensive line.
“Regardless of the situation right now, I can’t be upset or become distraught about anything that happens,” Vick said. “It’s just a blessing to be back playing football again. From where I came from, I never would have thought I would have gotten the opportunities I’ve had for the last three or four years.
“I’m just rolling with the punches now…"
Vick spoke to the media Monday for the first time since suffering that last concussion against Dallas on Nov. 11.
“It’s tough because as a competitor, I want to be out there,” Vick said after Monday’s light practice at the NovaCare Complex. “But it’s just not the ideal situation right now the way things are. I just have to accept my role as a man, continue to support Nick and try to help this football team anyway I can. I just have to roll with the punches. As of right now, that’s the only thing I can do.”
I just hope Vick and his agent were watching the Jets game on MNF. The words I thought I saw Rex Ryan mumbling were "get me a mobile quarterback with a gun"…
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