Falcons want to trade rights to Michael Vick

Atlanta Falcons’ General Manager Thomas Dimitroff acknowledged in an interview on Friday that the team is planning to trade the NFL rights to QB Michael Vick.  Vick is scheduled for release from prison on July 23.  While his status with the NFL remains cloudy, he’s indicated that he wants to resume his playing career.  It won’t, however, be with the Atlanta Falcons as Dimitroff made clear:

"With regards to Michael Vick, we've decided to seek a trade of his contractual rights to another NFL club. We took a number of steps in the 2008 season, including using our first pick to draft a quarterback. We feel a trade is the best move for the Falcons, and it's also in the best interest of Michael.”

"This has been a really unique situation from a variety of standpoints and because we will actively be involved in a trade situation, I don't envision our organization speaking any more about this subject publicly until it's reached a resolution."

Dimitroff secured the Falcons’ future QB in the NFL draft last year with the selection of Matt Ryan out of Boston College.  Ryan may not be the all around athlete that Vick is, but he brings a number of other things to the table—the ability to read a defense and hit an open receiver, great leadership skills and, most importantly, an abundance of personal character.  It was all but obvious that the Falcons’ would have no more interest in Vick upon his release, but Dimitroff’s comments made it official.

Vick is currently under suspension by the NFL, and Commissioner Roger Goodell has given no timetable about when this would be revisited.  Nevertheless, Dimitroff will be entertaining trade offers.  Sources close to the Dallas Cowboys—who’ve had a recent history of rolling the dice with troubled players—indicated that the team has no interest in Vick.  The Cowboys became the first team to trade for a player under suspension last April, acquiring Adam “Pacman” Jones from the Tennessee Titans.  The Cowboys have recently released “Pacman” and likely don’t want to go down that road again.  The New York Jets and Tampa Bay Bucs have also indicated that they’ve got no interest in Vick.

The Falcons may find Vick a tough sell.  He has a contract that runs through 2013 worth $45 million.  Even assuming that a team has interest in Vick the player, finding a team willing to take the P.R. hit from signing him is a different matter.  Acquiring an individual such as Vick--who is now ‘on record’ as someone who tortured, abused and murdered dogs for his entertainment—would be a tough pill for a team’s fanbase and sponsors to swallow. 

Dimitroff indicated that should the team be unwilling to complete a trade that they’d reevaluate their options.  It might be a good idea for them to go ahead and start working on a ‘Plan B’.