As Tim explained yesterday, Michael Vick is trying something new to protect his ribs.
The Eagles quarterback is recovering from a rib injury that knocked him out of the second preseason game against the Patriots on Aug. 20. Last November, he broke a couple ribs against the Cardinals. And in 2010, a rib injury against the Redskins sidelined him for over a month.
Vick will wear a Kevlar vest made by Unequal Technologies, a company he endorses. From what he said, it sounds like Vick is trying to cover a greater area of his mid-section.
“To give me more protection, just to see what comes out of it,” Vick said. “It’s going to be custom-fitted and fitted to protect all across my sternum, all across my ribs. I think it’ll be a better feel.”
Will the added padding slow him down or be uncomfortable?
“You can barely feel them,” Vick said. “The way we get them fitted, the type of material that they have nowadays can withstand a lot of impact. It’s just that the last one wasn’t protecting me in a certain area so we’re going to try to cover up all areas.”
Andy Reid, meanwhile, didn’t seem to think that the rib protection had anything to do with the injury against New England.
“It’s a Kevlar vest. It’s the latest, greatest. It’s supposedly…the best,” Reid said. “That’s what I can tell you. They’re not quite as cumbersome as the other ones, will still protect him. He took a good shot. It wasn’t a matter of what he had on. He took a pretty good shot back there.”
By the time the Week 1 game against the Browns rolls around, Vick will have had 19 days to rest his ribs. Unless something drastically changes, he’ll be ready to start.
“I feel a lot better,” Vick said. “It’s still sore, but I’m just working through it, ultimately to get better over the next couple days and get ready for next week.”
Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
