Fresh off a phenomenal season in which he completed his turnaround from staying in a federal penitentiary and won the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year Award, Michael Vick will be staying with the Philadelphia Eagles when the team uses its franchise tag on their starting quarterback.
For the first time since 2006, when he was a member of the Atlanta Falcons, Vick took control of a team’s offense and put up stats that were better than any expected. Known as a below average passer in Atlanta, Vick posted impressive numbers in 2010.
He set career highs in TD Passes (21), TD/Interception Ratio (7:2), Completion Percentage (62.6%), Passing Yards (3,018), Yards per Attempt (8.1) and QB Rating (100.2). Vick also continued to run the ball well, scoring nine times on the ground and averaging 6.8 yards per rush.
Vick’s 2010 season will be remembered for his memorable performances against the Washington Redskins (in which he had over 400 yards of total offense and a combined 6 touchdowns) and the New York Giants (which has become known as the second Miracle in the Meadowlands).
With the franchise tag, Vick will make more than $20 million in 2011, a large portion of which will be used to pay of his pre-prison debts.
With Vick firmly entrenched in the Eagles future plans, teams around the league will likely be lining up to inquire about back-up Kevin Kolb. Kolb was the starter at the beginning of 2010 but left the team’s first game with an injury.
The free agent market for quarterbacks in 2011 includes mediocre options at best (technically Peyton Manning is a free agent but he won’t be leaving Indianapolis) so Kolb will likely be the most sought after QB this summer.
Kolb is only slated to make $1.4 million in 2011, so team’s will be more than willing to give up good players or draft picks to acquire his services.
What the Eagles do with Kolb will show what they are planning beyond this coming season. If they choose to keep him, it’s almost certain that he is still their QB of the future and Vick will be hitting the open market (and a likely big payday) in 2012. Should the Eagles trade Kolb, they likely will look to lock Vick up for the foreseeable future as there is no other back-up plan in place.
Used with permission of the author.
Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.
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