As Eagles quarterback Mike Vick prepares to return to action more than a month after having his rib cage crunched between two members of the Washington Redskins defense, rumors already have begun to circulate regarding Vick’s potential destination in 2011, if he doesn’t sign a long-term deal with the Eagles.
Early talk focuses on the team whose players busted up his ribs -- the Redskins.
It nearly as unthinkable that the Eagles would let Vick get to the Redskins as it was for the Eagles to send Donovan McNabb there. But that doesn’t change the fact that the rumor mill is churning with talk of the ‘Skins wanting Vick, who’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2011. Given that, last year at this time, the rumor mill was on full boil regarding Mike Shanahan being the next coach of the Redskins, it’s worth keeping an eye on the situation, since the Redskins apparently can’t contain themselves once they know what they want.
Then again, it could be that the Redskins are putting the word out there as part of the broader “kick McNabb’s butt into gear” campaign, which began last Sunday by benching him in the final minutes of a winnable game against the Lions and continued with a stream of excuses that somehow were uttered with a straight face. What better way to get McNabb’s attention than to create the impression that they prefer the guy who helped chase McNabb out of Philly?
But if the Redskins truly are interested in Vick, they need to consider the impact Eagles coach Andy Reid has on making a quarterback look better than he really is. For proof of that, the Redskins need only to consider the former Eagles quarterback already in their locker room.