Quarterback Michael Vick hasn’t played a snap since the 2015 season, and he’s aware that his NFL career is likely finished, as Jonathan Jones of Sports Illustrated writes in a detailed interview with the controversial signal-caller.
“Yeah, I think it’s it,” said Vick, responding to whether his career is over. “I’m kind of looking at life from a different perspective now. I’ve got kids growing that I’ve got to be there for. I was committed in 2016 to giving it one more shot. I’m very content with my career and what I’ve been able to accomplish. I accomplished more than I ever thought I would. Listen, at the end of the day, through all the downs I played, I can say I won a game for every team that I played for, even though I only made three starts in New York and three starts in Pittsburgh. I made a difference, I’m content with my career and I’m ready to move forward in life.”
As Vick notes, he had previously maintained that he was interested in continuing his career during the 2016 campaign, but although he reportedly received bits of interest from NFL clubs, no deal ever materialized. Given that Vick intimated that his playing days would not extend past 2016, his announcement that his time in the NFL is over doesn’t come as a major surprise.
If this is the end, Vick will have concluded one of the more complicated NFL careers in recent memory. Selected first overall by the Falcons in the 2001 draft, Vick quickly revolutionized the quarterback position, becoming a dual-threat weapon capable of making plays with both his arm and his legs. Though his passing acumen was sometimes suspect (he never topped a 60% completion percentage during his time in Atlanta), Vick was a weapon on the ground, and in 2006 became the first quarterback to rush for more than 1,000 yards. Vick ranks first among quarterbacks with 6,109 career rushing yards, leading second-place Randall Cunningham by more than 1,100 yards in that regard.
Of course, Vick’s career came crashing down in 2007, when he plead guilty to dog-fighting charges and was indefinitely suspended by the NFL. Facing both federal and state charges, Vick ultimately served less than two years in prison, and was released in July 2009. Though Vick has rehabilitated his image in some corners, and has even become an animal rights advocate, his legacy will likely always be tarnished by his involvement in that gruesome ordeal.
After being released from incarceration, Vick latched on with the Eagles in 2009 (despite much public outcry), and the following year posted perhaps the best season of his career, passing for more than 3,000 yards and 21 touchdowns against only six interceptions, adding another 676 yards and 10 scores via the ground game. Philadelphia lost in the Wild Card round in 2011, a game that marked the final postseason appearance of Vick’s career. After a few more middling and injury-marred seasons with the Eagles, Vick finished out his time in the NFL as a reserve for the Jets and Steelers in 2014 and 2015, respectively, managing six starts during those two campaigns.
