Top Ten Landing Spots For Vick

Potential injuries and “The Wildcat Offense” are his greatest assets, so Michael Vick, at 29, looking to clear $2 or 3 million to pick away at that nasty bankruptcy debt, is sending feelers out to find a team that will have him. If he’s smart, he’ll rule out coming back as a starter and settle for sucking up to the starter, making his meetings, wearing his baseball hat crooked and holding a clipboard.

You can rule out the Jets and Giants, who are on record of having no interest. Throw in Atlanta, Chicago (Jay Cutler), Arizona (Warner and Leinart), the Cowboys, never to be trusted, but another declared closed door, the fickle 49ers, where maybe the coach would have him, but the rest of the organization won’t, the Lions (Culpepper and Stafford and 0-16 are enough), Green Bay (too much QB controversy last year), the stable Saints (Drew Brees) and Seahawks (Matt Haselback) and the unstable Vikings, what with Rosenfels, Jackson and maybe Favre, and you’ve pretty much narrowed down the NFC to the Rams, the mid-Atlantic Panthers and Redskins (an area where he may receive the most slack for his actions), the QB-collecting Bucs, and with a timely injury to Donavan McNabb, maybe the Eagles.

On the AFC side, rule out the Bengals (Carson Palmer), Broncos (unless the new coach panics) and Browns (still with Anderson and Quinn). Philip Rivers anchors San Diego, the Chiefs’ investment in Matt Cassel rules out KC, and Peyton Manning is all that’s needed in Indy (although Tony Dungy is Vick’s assigned mentor and with an injury to Manning, it could make sense). The Dolphins, an early possibility for Vick, have the Wildcat, Ronnie Brown and rookie Pat White. The Steelers (Big Ben), Texans (Matt Schaub) and Titans (Kerry Collins and Vince Young) are unlikely. The Buffalo Bills are teetering on the unproven at quarterback. Jacksonville could as quickly fall out of love with David Garrard, as they did falling in love with him, the Patriots represent the “strong family guidance” that most think Vick needs, and the Raiders, remain always a possibility as the perrenial open arms to all NFL bad boys. The Ravens, with a potential sophomore misstep by Joe Flacco, could put Vick under Ray Lewis’ “recovered-as-a-bad-guy” wing.

Commissioner Roger Goodell is giving Vick ample time to get ready. He can attend a camp and play in the last two exhibitions. He’ll wait 4-6 games (depending upon bye weeks) to be eligible, but Vick will most likely sit as a back-up, waiting for a slump or injury, and collect for his clip board work. Not bad work if you can get it (average back up QBs make $2 to $5 million). The trick remains what owner will risk the fan backlash so Vick can cash in. And what about the prospect of a lawsuit if they all shut him out?