Life After Vick?

[eagle fanatic]

per profootballtalk.com

FALCONS PLOTTING POST-VICK PLAN?

We continue to hear rumors and rumblings from league insiders regarding the current thought processes currently unfolding in the headquarters of the Atlanta Falcons.

Earlier today, we posted an item about rumors in league circles that the Falcons could be a late entry in the Trent Green sweepstakes. And we're continuing to hear more and more talk from league insiders regarding the looming possibility that Mike Vick won't be a member of the Falcons when the 2007 season begins.

Per one source, there's a growing belief that the NFL is privy to more information about the still-developing investigation into a dog-fighting ring that was uncovered at Vick's property in Virginia -- and that the information available to the league tends to support (not refute) the notion that Vick was aware of and/or involved in the activities occurring on the property he owned.

Surely, the NFL and the Falcons have been using their own security resources to get a better handle on the question of whether and to what extent there's a connection between Vick and dog fighting. And if the league and/or the team have learned that there is evidence that tends to increase the chances of a prosecution and/or a conviction, it makes sense for the league and/or the team to begin planning for all potential outcomes.

There's a school of thought that if Vick is ultimately suspended by Commissioner Roger Goodell for any portion of the 2007 season, the Falcons will simply cut him. Of course, the team would then be subject to a non-injury grievance for all or part of his $6 million salary, but teams now seem to be more and more inclined to dump a guy for disciplinary purposes and then deal with the financial consequences in due course.

We also continue to hear that the Falcons are looking for a veteran quarterback. Though the source with whom we spoke this afternoon has not heard Trent Green's name as a possibility, the source says that the Falcons definitely are pondering very carefully the possibilities at the position.

[eagle fanatic]

Profootballtalk.com is hardly a credible source, and to even mention Vick would be released is absurd. But they do bring up a good question. Are the Falcons ready to move on from the Vick experiment?

What they are getting from him on the field and off is not matching what the Falcons have invested in him. He has a huge contract that would make trading him difficult. And in the off-season they traded their best option to replace him in Matt Schaub. Now the Falcons are in a tough spot with Vick and his growing off-season list of problems.

[eagle fanatic]

VICK CAP HIT WOULDN'T BE CRIPPLING

We've posted a few times since Mike Vick showed his middle finger to a group of lingering home fans in November 2006 an explanation of the cap hit that would result from cutting or trading him.

In light of the rumors that the team could be planning to move on (or move out), we thought that a refresher would be in order.

If Vick is cut after June 1 (or on or before June 1 as a post-June 1 casualty), a cap charge of $7.57 million would apply in 2007. But by avoiding his $6 million salary that currently is on the books for 2007, the Falcons would suffer a net hit of only $1.57 million this year.

The bulk of the cap charge would come in 2008, when the remainder of Vick's unallocated bonus money would hit the cap. The gross hit in 2008 would be $14.68 million. But since the team also would avoid Vick's $7.5 million salary for 2008, the net hit would be $7.18 million.

Though the number seems high in isolation, it's still less than seven percent of the total cap dollars available next year.

The same cap consequences would apply if Vick were traded after June 1. But we can't imagine that anyone would take on his contract at this point, and we likewise doubt that Vick would be inclined to renegotiate it.

Of course, the cap consequences would be adjusted if Vick were to successfully argue that the Falcons cut him not due to skill but as an act of discipline. In that case, his $6 million salary for 2007 would hit the cap at some point, too.

[eagle fanatic]

Well apperantly the cap hit wouldn't be too outrageous. Non-the-less I say there is no way they would just cut him. The amounts still apply if he was traded. But they still would have to find a new starting QB, no easy task at this time of the season. The are going to be kicking themselves in the ass for getting rid of Schaub if they decide to get rid of Vick this year or next.

[Barleybaby]

Well apperantly the cap hit wouldn't be too outrageous. Non-the-less I say there is no way they would just cut him. The amounts still apply if he was traded. But they still would have to find a new starting QB, no easy task at this time of the season. The are going to be kicking themselves in the ass for getting rid of Schaub if they decide to get rid of Vick this year or next.

By trading Schaub they pretty much telegraphed their intentions for the next couple of seasons. In addition to the aforementioned cap hits you have to consider the cost of signing his replacement.

[5xchampions]

They made their bed. Petrino and Blanks are waist deep in Vick...and of course the lovely media....