Not that it stood much of a chance of happening in the first place, but the Michael Vick-to-the-Packers rumors seem to have been officially squashed.
Per Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com:
Nevertheless, Thompson did that Tuesday during a mini-news conference when he seemingly left the door open for Michael Vick to join the Packers by saying he would “not rule anything out.”
Well, rule it out. As several team officials later clarified, Thompson was merely staying consistent with his own personal policy — never show your hand on personnel moves. To absolutely rule out Vick publicly would be setting a precedent for the “reclusive” general manager.
As I wrote yesterday when this rumor first hit the net, Vick winding up in Green Bay made little sense. They already have Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and youngsters Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn to back him up.
Where would Vick fit in? Running back?
Anyone who ever thought Vick was a running back was dreaming. First of all, he’s not that big and while he has (or used to have; who knows what prison life did to him) immense athletic ability, can you actually envision Vick running up the middle and taking on 250-pound linebackers? He would get crushed and if he didn’t get crushed, he would certainly fumble.
The only role the Packers (or any other team not looking for a QB) could have used Vick for is their version of the “Wild Cat” formation. But to my knowledge, Green Bay didn’t hop on that craze last year, so it’s not like they’re desperately looking for a player to help fill that role in their offense.
I maintain that Vick will wind up in Oakland, Seattle or San Francisco. Those are the three teams that I’ve said all along, so I’m sticking to them, although rumor had it that Jacksonville was a reasonable landing spot for him too.
