While head coach John Fox continues to dodge questions about whether or not the Panthers are interested in Michael Vick, rumors persist that the free agent quarterback is bound for Carolina.

From FOX Sports.com:

“As I’ve said before, you always keep all options open,” Fox said Wednesday. “I can’t say that’s something that we’re heavily involved in at this point. I hate ruling out really anything.”

The rigid philosophy has left the Panthers on the short list of teams that haven’t officially ruled out signing Vick, who is attempting a comeback after completing a prison sentence for his role in a dogfighting operation.

Fox wasn’t budging under a barrage of questions Wednesday, and apparently wasn’t concerned about the television debates on the merits of Carolina signing Vick.

“I don’t think we should be high on the radar, but I don’t like to limit anything,” Fox said.

This is one of the hot rumors in NFL circles right now, but it’s still doubtful that the Panthers will pull the trigger on Vick. They like all three of their quarterbacks (Delhomme, Josh McCown and Matt Moore) and have also been a team that has avoided distractions since the Rae Carruth incident.

I think Fox is just being coy with the media.

Mike Lombardi of the National Football Post is reporting that free agent quarterback Michael Vick will likely sign with a team east of the Mississippi.

Back to Vick. By the way, did you see him working out with those kids on the high school field? He looked good, throwing the ball around softly. In fact, I mentioned on the air that we should send him some new NFL footballs. Quarterbacks cannot be properly evaluated unless they have the right footballs. So where does this leave Vick? I put my thinking cap on (yes, Raiders fans, I have one) and, based on the east of the Mississippi clue, my best guess is Carolina. I still feel Jacksonville is in play, especially because they went after Andrew Walter and failed to land him, despite the fact their offensive coordinator, Dirk Koetter, coached Walter in college. Carolina badly needs a backup quarterback and has seen firsthand how Vick can create problems with his running skills. It makes sense, but it’s still a guess. I’ll keep working on the clues.

One thought being floated around the web is that Vick will wind up in a southern state because dog fighting is more widely accepted in the south. But that kind of seems like a ridiculous, fabricated notion and I think any team that signs Vick will do so knowing that PETA will be on their front lawn as soon as he reports to their facilities.

The Panthers are an interesting team that never crossed my mind in terms of who Vick could potentially sign with. Jake Delhomme just signed a new contract, but there’s nothing guaranteed about his play (see last year’s divisional round playoff loss to the Cardinals) and Vick could give Carolina better depth at the quarterback position.

But again, it all comes down to which team is willing to take the risk of signing him. Financially he’s probably worth it, seeing as how he’s probably going to have to take the first offer presented to him. But any team that signs him risks alienating their fan base and turning their facilities into a daily media circus.