National Football League

Glazer: Vick content to 'let it all play out'

Published Mar. 12, 2010 3:07 a.m. ET

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The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback position this offseason has been dissected more than frogs in a high school biology class. While most stories have been based upon whether Donovan McNabb or Kevin Kolb will either be with the team next year or traded, the team’s third QB has made no attempt to hide his desire to play somewhere he can start.

But now that his pleas have thus far failed, Michael Vick's trying to accept the fact he has no control over where he plays next season.

“If I’m in the same situation, I’ll just have to suck it up and go out and play and listen to what Andy (Reid, Eagles coach) wants me to do and understand I’m there to play a certain role to try to help the Eagles win a Super Bowl,” Vick said. “I can’t be a disgruntled employee, because that’s not who I am.

“The only thing I could do is express my concerns and let them know where I want to be, and they know I want to be behind center. I just have to let it all play out.”

Vick sat and spoke with me during a break in filming Pros Vs. Joes on Spike TV, a series that airs this summer and is co-hosted by Michael Strahan and me. In the show, Vick and a handful of recently retired NFL stars teamed up to take on two teams of three Joes, men who feel they fell through the cracks and have what it takes to compete in the NFL (as well as the NBA for other episodes). It’s the first time a player signed with an NFL team has participated in the show.

“The Eagles know what I want to do," Vick continued, "but I don’t know if it’ll happen. I’m trying to stay optimistic and believe in the organization. Whatever happens, I’m cool with it. If I’m there, I’m happy; if I move on, I’m happy. I’m just fortunate that I have teams who find me valuable. What more can be done? My film speaks for itself. The Eagles know what I can do, which is why I think they picked up the option.”

Vick, for his part, believes he can offer a team the same ability he showed before he was incarcerated for staging dog fighting, a slew of acts that made him a hated character across America.

Which brings us back to Pros Vs. Joes. One of the reasons Vick said he decided to put himself out there in two games of hard-hitting football against six no-names is that he realizes these days he has to take out-of-the-box tactics to win back the masses.

“It’s a neverending process for me,” Vick said of winning back his reputation. “It’s like I just told a high school I was speaking to, 'It’s the Michael Vick Project. I am a work in progress.'

“I will continue to be that way, to help out in the community, to be a model citizen and do all the things I’m supposed to do moving forward. It’s not about me anymore. It’s about helping others and having a positive impact on their lives.”

Though Vick said he had a blast on the show teaming up with the likes of Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn, Isaac Bruce and LaVar Arrington, he now lights up when he speaks of how his crime and punishment serve as a lesson in how NOT to act in life.

“I was speaking at a high school for a Humane Society event recently, and a little kid came and told me that he had three dogs and was thinking about fighting them,” Vick said. “He said when he heard about me and how I feel about it now, he doesn’t want to do it anymore. It made me feel so good. I changed a life. That’s another kid who could have gone down the wrong path and lost a lot, crushed his family and disappointed himself, and this helped save him.

“That’s what it’s about now.”

That, and trying to find a place where he can return to the starting lineup.

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