Michael Vick Released and Ready to Step Back on the NFL Field

Michael Vick is officially a free man and he has been allowed to take the electronic monitor of his ankle as of Monday this week. Now all that is left for Vick to do is convince commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL that he has paid for his crimes and is ready to play professional football again. It isn’t going to be easy but he is a lot closer than many people thought he would be at this point.

Vick has been released after serving a total of 23 months after his conviction in regards to running a dog fighting ring. The problem is that there is only one week left before training camp opens for the 2009-2010 NFL season. Vick has not played in an NFL game since December of 2006 so many people feel that there is no way that he could be ready for the upcoming season. He is a very talented player and still young at the age of 29, but two years off of the field has to take its toll on any player.

Vick is scheduled to meet Goodell in a face to face meeting later this week which will go a long way into determining whether he will be allowed to play. The commissioner has stated that he wants to see solid remorse from the young quarterback and he wants to know that Vick has paid for his mistakes and is ready to make up for it. Even if the commissioner determines that Vick should be allowed to play, he still has to convince the teams in the league that he is fit to play. And it is going to be hard to find a team that is willing to take such a risk on a player so late into the off-season.

While there is no resolution in the near future, it is nice for football fans to know that we are closer to the end of this story than we have been in awhile. It remains to be seen where Vick will end up, but he is one step closer to stepping back on the field.