Inside The Bills

Players on Vick

A handful of players were asked about Michael Vick potentially coming to the Bills in the wake of Tony Dungy’s comments on NBC’s Football Night in America that Buffalo is a “dark horse” destination for Vick for 2010.

“I didn’t hear anything about it,” said Lee Evans when asked if Vick would be a good fit in Buffalo. ”I don’t know. Probably not. I love him as a player, and everything that he’s done in the league, but I don’t know if it’ll be something that will work.”

“I was asked this same question this past offseason when he was figuring out where to go and it’s one of those things that’s out of my control,” said Trent Edwards. ”We’ve got guys upstairs working those personnel moves and if they feel like that’s going to be the best fit for this team and help us win football games I’m sure they’re going to do that without my opinion on it. So I don’t think it really matters what I think on it.”

“If we had the opportunity to get Michael Vick and it came down to that I believe yes (he would be a fit),” said Donte Whitner. “I believe that he’s a great football player. Right now he’s not in the swing of things with all the time off. But with a full offseason of conditioning and dealing with the right people helping him to get his mechanics back in line I believe he can pick up where he left off. I believe Michael Vick would be a good fit and I would encourage whoever to bring Michael Vick in.”

Dungy on Vick Buffalo chances

Back in the summer there was a great deal of speculation as to whether Michael Vick was signing with Buffalo. It never happened, but on NBC’s Football Night in America, analyst and Vick mentor Tony Dungy speculated on the possibility of it happening in the future.

Here’s exactly what Dungy said Sunday night when asked to assess Vick’s future.

Dungy: “I told Michael to just worry about this year. It’s technically up to Philadelphia. If they want him back, he has to stay there. If they don’t, there are some teams looking for quarterbacks – Cleveland, St. Louis and Washington. But I think a dark horse is Buffalo…They talked originally. There was some communication there. I think that could be a good spot.”

ESPN’s Schefter maintains Bills talked to Vick

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is still of the belief that the Bills made contact with the Michael Vick camp. At this point however, that’s all it is based on his tweet, his belief. See below.

Adam_SchefterAnd I also firmly believe Vick was contacted by Buffalo, it’s just that those talks never really seemed to go anywhere, for whatever reason.

I’ll state why it never went anywhere. It didn’t make sense. They hitched their wagon to Trent Edwards spent an entire offseason giving him the keys to the offense. To sign Vick now would cut Edwards at the knees.

Even if you were bringing him in to just run the Wildcat like Philly supposedly is, the situation in Buffalo would be different. If and when Edwards has a bad quarter of play, the public pressure to put Vick in the lineup would create a mess and possibly a split locker room as well. It wasn’t worth the trouble.

Jauron on whether Vick was discussed by Bills

Bills head coach Dick Jauron was asked following Thursday night’s practice if he and Buffalo’s front office had ever discussed Michael Vick as a possibility for their team. Here was his response.

“Over the last years it certainly has been,” said Jauron. ”We’ve discussed him every time we played him. Over the last few weeks, absolutely we stand by what we said earlier. About two weeks ago we said we have no interest and that’s still exactly the same.”

So while Vick may have been discussed as an option by the Bills front office it doesn’t sound like discussions got very far before he was ruled out.

Bills reiterate stance on Michael Vick

It has been communicated to me through the chain of command at One Bills Drive that the Buffalo Bills stand by their original statement that the team has no interest in adding Michael Vick to the roster at this time.

Vick rumors persist

The Michael Vick rumors continue to swirl involving the Bills.

The latest comes from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who tweeted the following

Adam_Schefter: Here are the two sleeper teams on Vick not getting mentioned, but that I now sense could be in play here: Buffalo and Dallas.

Schefter doesn’t mention that he got that info from a specific source. He also tweeted this morning that there will not be a Vick signing today. Though he did say that Friday through Monday is now on his radar.

Stay tuned.

Bills exploring QB options?

According to NFL Network reporter Jason LaCanfora the Bills are exploring their options at quarterback behind Trent Edwards.

He says the Bills are “sniffing around” for backup options at quarterback. This naturally has everyone speculating that Buffalo may have an interest in Michael Vick.

I don’t see the Bills bringing Vick to Buffalo. It would undermine the commitment and investment in time that they’ve made to Edwards. Brian Griese or Gus Frerotte however, are available options.

I’m not saying I know they’re looking around, but if LaCanfora’s sources are giving him accurate information then I think those veterans are more likely options for Buffalo than Vick.

Bills not interested in acquiring Vick

Bills COO/GM Russ Brandon confirmed for Buffalobills.com that the club would not be interested in adding Michael Vick to the roster.

“We do not have interest at this time,” said Brandon. “We are comfortable with our roster as it is.”

This stance should come as no surprise. The organization has been staunchly behind Trent Edwards believing he will take a big step forward in his third NFL season. Everyone on Buffalo’s roster is also fully behind Edwards, who is unquestionably ‘the guy.’ If you bring in a veteran like Vick, who has had success in the league, it could potentially undermine the commitment the organization has made to Edwards.

And that is not a situation the organization wants in such an important season, especially with a player that may or may not be available if you need him due to injury to your starting QB anyway.

Where the UFL stands on Vick

While Michael Vick’s NFL status lies in wait, the fledgling UFL has addressed where they stand with respect to Vick possibly playing in their league this fall. UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue made the following statement.

“We do believe the UFL provides Michael Vick the perfect opportunity to regain his true playing ability and mentally prepare for being part of a professional football team again.  However, we will await a final determination by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell regarding Michael Vick’s potential NFL reinstatement before any discussions take place with Vick. 

“If the opportunity arises for the UFL to pursue Vick, we will do so only after careful discussions with Michael and his representatives.  We would however, look favorably on his participation in our League.  As a start-up league, it is important to gain as much widespread exposure as possible; but we want to make sure we are drawing media attention for the right reasons. 

“While it is true the addition of Michael Vick to our Orlando franchise will attract the media, we believe the UFL will allow him ample playing time to hone his craft and then transition back to the NFL.  We also acknowledge that the added attention Vick will bring to the UFL will benefit the other players as they will now have a national platform to showcase their talents.”

This is very good positioning by the UFL. They publicly let Vick and anyone listening that they will welcome Vick into their league if things don’t pan out with NFL, and acknowledge that once he proves he’s capable of playing at the highest level he’ll transition back to the NFL. The UFL is wisely working in conjunction with the NFL and not competing with it.

Vick trying to get in front of Goodell

According to NFL Fanhouse Michael Vick’s representatives are trying to set up a meeting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell knowing that Vick has to get in front of the commissioner and show remorse for his actions in the hope that he is reinstated.

NFL Spokesperson Greg Aiello told Fanhouse the following about Vick.

“The review of his status is ongoing. We are providing no other details at this time.”

Vick’s representatives believe there are only about 8 NFL teams serious enough to consider making him a part of their roster this season. None of those teams were mentioned of course.

Vick finished the home confinement portion of his sentence Monday. He’s now on 3 years probation, where if he gets into any other trouble off the field, he’ll probably be facing more jail time.

And that is the biggest deterrent for NFL teams right now. They openly wonder if he can be trusted.