Reid Vague About Vick


Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Michael VickMichael Vick has finally been cleared by an independent neurologist after suffering a concussion on November 11 against the Cowboys, and is expected to participate in the Eagles’ light practice Monday morning. It could be an interesting day at the NovaCare Complex, as we may just get to hear what’s going through the quarterback’s mind after losing the starting gig to Nick Foles.

Vick’s long-term future is cloudy. If he is on the roster three days after the Super Bowl (February 6), $3 million of his contract becomes guaranteed. It seems likely that the Eagles will terminate the deal before then. The one potential caveat is if there is no head coach in place by that date, and management wants to get the new guy’s input before choosing a direction when it comes to quarterback.

Maybe the incoming coach prefers Vick. Maybe the 32-year-old, having recently bought a house in New Jersey and with growing ties to the community, would be amenable to a salary reduction and/or a backup role to stay local. But odds are, team and QB move on. What happens from there is anybody’s guess.

Vick’s short-term future is also a bit fuzzy. We know that Foles will start the remaining two games barring injury, but Andy Reid would not even commit to the one-time franchise quarterback being the primary backup the rest of the way. Or even active.

“I haven’t gotten that far yet, but he’ll be able to practice. I’ve got to look at the numbers and how that goes. So, we’ll see,” said Reid.

Which numbers do you have to look at?

“I’m just literally going to look at how many guys I can have active and not active and  then see how the numbers work out there and see how [Vick] feels this week,” he replied.

There is no question that at least one backup will be active, so if Reid is crunching roster numbers, that doesn’t seem to suggest that Vick will be the No. 2.

If you take a step back, it’s hard to believe how this has all unfolded. Coming into the year, Vick was hoping to take that big leap into the Steve Young stratosphere; Mike Kafka was the backup and Foles was a questionable pick that would be at the far end of the bench. Kafka got hurt, Trent Edwards bumped him out. Foles soared in the preseason and took the No. 2 spot. Vick struggled, then got hurt, and now might not even be able to dress for what very well could be his last two games under contract for the Eagles.

The best-laid plans…

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