Vick: I Can’t Worry About Losing Job


Michael Vick

TAMPA, Fla. — LeSean McCoy pretended he didn’t understand.

The Eagles’ running back was making his way back to his locker and saw a crowd of reporters nearby surrounding Michael Vick.

“Why y’all talking’ to him?” he joked. “He ain’t play a [expletive] down!”

But McCoy knew exactly why Vick was drawing attention. The veteran signal-caller beat out Nick Foles for the starting job in the summer, but suffered a hamstring injury last week against the Giants. For the first time all season, when the offense took the field for its opening drive, Vick wasn’t out there.

Now, after Foles’ performance (22-for-31, 296 yards, three touchdowns), there is a degree of uncertainty surrounding the Eagles’ QB situation. Chip Kelly said after the game that he would evaluate everything moving forward.

“He did everything that he was supposed to do to put this team in position to win that game,” Vick said of Foles.

Asked if he was concerned about losing his starting job, he said: “Not at all. It’s the game of football. Nick’s a great player. He’s a great football player. He does exactly what he needs to do when he goes out on the field. That’s not something I’m gonna worry about. I’m gonna worry about getting healthy.”

Has Kelly reassured him that he’ll be the starter once he is healthy?

“We haven’t talked about that,” Vick said. “There’s no need to talk about it. We gotta go with the momentum, we gotta go with the flow. As players, we do what we’re asked to do.”

Vick tested out the hamstring before the game, but already knew that Foles was going to start today’s game. He said it still felt a little tight and a little sore.

“You know you got a quarterback behind you who can play, who can go out there and get the job done,” Vick said when asked about not coming back too soon. “The team believes in him, the guys believe in him, the coaching staff believes in him. You don’t have to rush it. You don’t have to try to stress it out and make it even worse, so it’s a good opportunity for me, it’s a good space to be in.

“You just gotta be cautious with an injury like this. If you go out there and stress it out, then you hurt yourself for the next two weeks and the next three weeks, so I just gotta make sure I’m a hundred percent when I’m out there.”

The Eagles’ next game is Sunday afternoon at the Linc against the Cowboys.

Asked if he expects to be healthy enough to play in that game, Vick said: “I can’t say right now.”

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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