Eagles to hang onto Vick until preseason?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (02/18/2010 @ 10:46 am)
According to NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora, the Eagles might not trade quarterback Michael Vick until the preseason. The thought is to up Vick’s trade value by displaying him in preseason games and then waiting for other teams to panic due to injuries and uncertainty at the quarterback position.
If Philly does decide to wait, it’ll cost them. Vick is due a $1.5 million roster bonus on March 5 and if the Eagles don’t trade him before then, they’ll also guarantee $1 million of the quarterback’s 2010 salary. But if they can acquire a higher draft pick in return, it’s a price the Eagles are probably willing to pay.
The Rams remain the front-runners for Vick because of GM Billy Devaney’s relationship with the quarterback in Atlanta. Marc Bulger is no longer a viable starting option at quarterback and neither are Keith Null or Kyle Boller, so St. Louis would love to upgrade.
The Bills are another team desperate to start fresh at the quarterback position and with Chan Gailey’s history with mobile quarterbacks, Vick would make sense in Buffalo. The Raiders might make a play for Vick as well and a sleeper team that could emerge come preseason is the Cardinals, who aren’t completely sold on Matt Leinart yet.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Eagles to keep Michael Vick now?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (02/03/2010 @ 11:00 am)
According to the NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi, the Eagles fully intend to retain Michael Vick’s services for the 2010 season, as they see it being a luxury to having three starter-quality quarterbacks on their roster.
While I don’t disagree that the Eagles told Lombardi this, it’s highly doubtful that the team will pay Vick the $5.25 million he’s due next season with Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb’s contracts also coming up at the end of the year. Vick attempted just 13 passes and 24 rushing attempts for Philly last season, which is hardly worth paying over $5 million again for next year.
The Eagles likely sold Lombardi a bill of goods in hopes of generating trade value for Vick this offseason. The Rams and Bills are two teams that may be interested in the former starter and you never know who else will get into the mix (the Raiders?).
I’d be shocked if the Eagles kept Vick for 2010, pay him $5.25 million and then wind up getting nothing for him when his contract comes up at the end of the season. There would be no point and I highly expect Philly to trade him for a fourth or fifth rounder before April’s draft.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Vick still believes he’s a top 10 quarterback
Posted by Anthony Stalter (02/02/2010 @ 12:21 pm)
Michael Vick wants to be a starter next season and believes that he can be if the Eagles decide to trade him during the offseason. Oh, and he still thinks that he’s a top 10 quarterback too.
From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Vick, who will turn 30 in June, then went back on his previous statement about returning as a backup. “As I think about it now, getting back to your previous question, it would be fairly hard [to return to the Eagles as a backup],” he said. “I know I can play in this league. I know I still have a lot of games left in me. I can be improved and be in shape and have an opportunity to go play somewhere else in the league. I’m just being optimistic and hoping that things work out in my favor. To be honest, I do want to play.”
Vick, who noted how difficult it was to play “sporadically” as he did last season, was asked by Patrick where he ranks among current NFL quarterbacks. “I still feel like I’m among the top 10, to be honest. I’m confident in my skills,” Vick said.
While you have to appreciate his confidence, I think Mikey is being a little unrealistic. I would take Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo, Carson Palmer, Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb and Eli Manning over Vick in a heartbeat, and I wouldn’t hesitate to take Matt Schaub, Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan and Vince Young over him either.
That said, he’s better than Trent Edwards and Marc Bulger, so as a fan I would be intrigued to see what he could do as a starter in either Buffalo or St. Louis. Maybe he’ll get the opportunity in one of those cities next season.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Charlie Weis in the running for Bills’ head coaching job?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (12/28/2009 @ 10:45 am)
According to WIVB-TV in Buffalo, the Bills have contacted former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis about their head coaching vacancy.
Sources tell us the Bills made a back-channel approach to Weis in recent weeks to see if he’s interested in the job. And the sources say Weis is interested. So far, it’s not believed that the two sides have had a formal discussion about the Bills coaching job.
The Bills were interested in Weis back in 2004 before they hired Mike Mularkey, so maybe this report has teeth. That said, one would have to believe that there are more qualified candidates than Weis. I realize they might not be able to land Mike Shanahan, Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden, but given his failures at Notre Dame as a head coach, it would make more sense if Weis assumed a coordinator position in the NFL before being hired as a team’s head man.
Along with Weis, the Bills were also linked to Michael Vick before he signed with Philadelphia. After signing Terrell Owens in the offseason, I fear that the Bills are heading down a path in which they’re focused more on flashy signings and hires than they are about making sound football decisions. But then again, Weis and Vick have only been linked to the Bills and as of right now, neither is close to joining the franchise. Plus, the T.O. experiment appears to be over (he only signed a one year deal and I’d be shocked if the team wanted to re-sign him), so let’s give the Bills the benefit of the doubt.
Buffalo needs a good front office man to come in, evaluate the roster, put together a plan to acquire talent and then get the right head coach to fit the players. The Bills are a long ways off and I highly doubt Weis is the savior they need.
Michael Vick to the Bills?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (08/13/2009 @ 2:58 pm)
Rumors are swirling that the Bills are going to eventually sign free agent quarterback Michael Vick, although nothing has been confirmed yet.
From Bills.com:
The latest comes from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who tweeted the following:
Adam_Schefter: Here are the two sleeper teams on Vick not getting mentioned, but that I now sense could be in play here: Buffalo and Dallas.
Schefter doesn’t mention that he got that info from a specific source. He also tweeted this morning that there will not be a Vick signing today. Though he did say that Friday through Monday is now on his radar.
Rich Eisen of the NFL Network also tweeted that the Bills had set a press conference up for 3:00 p.m. today, but then posted that there was no presser.
While these are just rumors, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to believe the Bills would be interested in Vick. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Gibran Hamdan are the two quarterbacks listed behind starter Trent Edwards on the Bills’ depth chart and neither of them offers much long-term potential. Plus, the offseason signing of Terrell Owens proved that Buffalo isn’t afraid to take on potential distractions.
But something to keep in mind (besides his dog fighting habits) is that Vick compiled a 15-16 record as a starter the last two years he was in the NFL. He’s also been out of football the past two seasons, is two years older and was also in prison during that time. Who knows what kind of shape this guy is in?
If Schefter is reporting it, there’s a good chance that there’s some truth to the rumors, so we’ll just have to wait and see. That said, a team has more reasons not to sign Vick than they do to sign him, so it could be a while before the Bills or anyone else pull the trigger on the idea.
Update: The Bills are reiterating that they don’t have any interest in Vick at this time.
|
