The Philadelphia Eagles have either a few days or weeks to decide Michael Vick’s fate. Despite how the Eagles hired a new coach who might have the perfect system for Vick, most of the fans would like to see him gone. However, Vick has at least one supporter in the locker room, as DeSean Jackson gave him his endorsement on Feb. 1.
Jackson spoke to the NFL Network and stated that it should be “a no-brainer” to keep Vick in Philadelphia. Given that new coach Chip Kelly has an ideal system for a mobile quarterback, Jackson believes it will fit Vick’s “playing style and what he’s done” perfectly.
That is the best and perhaps only reason to keep Vick as the Eagles’ starter. Yet the cons range from the $3 million owed to him next week, the $15.5 million base salary due to him in 2013, and the fact that he has been mostly awful for two years. All of this was supposed to make Vick’s departure a no-brainer, but he has a new hope after Kelly’s hiring.
No matter who leads Kelly’s offense, Jackson says he is “very excited” to work with him. He saw first-hand what Kelly’s offense can do, since Jackson played against his Oregon Ducks when he was at California. Now Kelly has a chance to revive Jackson’s career with the Eagles, after he did just as poorly as Vick over the last two years.
Still, since Jackson got his big new contract last season, Kelly has no choice but to keep him. Vick is another matter, although Nick Foles is less than an ideal fit for Kelly and the Eagles may have no better options in the draft or free agency.
The Eagles are supposedly obligated to pay Vick $3 million on Feb. 6, but they can put it off and not have to pay if another team signs Vick for less than $3 million. As such, they might wait until the start of free agency and draft evaluations to make a final decision, and take the risk of paying up later.
If Vick does indeed have more time, the likes of Jackson and any other supporters can keep fighting for him. He wasn’t supposed to have many friends or fans left after 2012, but he may just have a second wind after all -- off the field if not on it.
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