Michael Vick officially a free man now
Any NFL team is free to speak with Michael Vick about potential employment now that Vick was released from federal custody Monday. The sentence for his role in a dogfighting operation in Virginia expired after he was imprisoned in Leavenworth, Kan., then on home confinement in Hampton, Va.
But that doesn’t mean a decision on his playing fate for the 2009 season is imminent.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely prior to the 2007 season, and has not given a timetable for ruling on Vick’s possible reinstatement. Goodell has said in recent months that he would not begin the decision-making process until after Vick’s legal case concluded. He has also said that Vick must demonstrate genuine remorse to be reinstated.
At the NFL meetings in May, Goodell said: “Michael is going to have to demonstrate to myself and to the general public and to a lot of people: Did he learn anything from this experience? Does he regret what happened? Does he feel that he can be a positive influence going forward? Those are the questions that I would like to see [answered] when I sit with him.”
There is likely to be a face-to-face meeting between Goodell and Vick before Goodell makes a ruling, with the commissioner not saying whether he will make a decision before the upcoming season. Vick has to officially apply for reinstatement, which is likely to happen within 48 hours.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen raised the possibility of Vick playing this season in the new UFL, then signing on as a free agent after that league’s season finishes around Thanksgiving. The UFL has said it wants Vick and that it would place him on the Orlando franchise’s roster.
Vick is expected to hire renowned performance trainer Tom Shaw to prepare the quarterback for his return. Shaw has trained a number of star athletes, especially football players. Vick has trained previously with Shaw, and Shaw has worked with other notable NFL players such as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Jay Cutler, Derrick Brooks and Deion Sanders. Shaw’s Web site claims he has worked with the last nine Super Bowl MVPs, 118 first-round draft picks and eight No. 1 picks.
Shaw’s training facility is located at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. It is unknown if Vick’s training regimen with Shaw will occur at the Disney complex or at another site.
Vick has been working with his former high school coach Tommy Reamon on getting his arm back into passing shape, while slowly fine-tuning the rest of his physique at his home in Hampton, Va.
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