Two months ago, Ben Roethlisberger injured his knee and Michael Vick was about to make his first start for the Steelers. Now, days ahead of the Steelers-Seahawks matchup, Vick is running the scout team as Russell Wilson.
To borrow coach Mike Tomlin's words, Vick was "below the line" in three starts. And when third-stringer Landry Jones replaced him in Week 6 because of a hamstring injury, it was clear that Jones was the better quarterback. The depth chart now reflects that.
Vick, who has completed just 40 of 66 passes (2 touchdowns, 1 interception) this season, paved the way for scrambling quarterbacks like Russell Wilson. And if the best way Vick can help his current team is by pretending to be a player on another team, then so be it.
“There’s still a lot of football games,” Vick said Monday, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I just have to do whatever I’m asked to do. I’m not in position to cry about it or talk about it. I have to be the consummate pro right now. I can say, do I like it? I can’t say it’s something as a competitor you want to do, but you have to keep rolling with the punches.
“I understand it, I understand the whole situation, and that makes it easier.”
Taken first overall in 2001, Vick is now 35. And as recently as late summer, it wasn't clear if he'd get another chance to play in the NFL. But an injury to Steelers backup Bruce Gradowski led the team to sign Vick on August 25. And even though it was a one-year deal, Vick says he may want to come back in 2016.
“Absolutely, I’d definitely come back here,” Vick said. “Great people, great staff, great teammates. That’s what I fell in love with, my teammates, a bunch of great guys. That’s what Mike Tomlin told me before I came in, that there were a lot of good guys in this locker room, and it’s awesome.”
Even if Jones remains Big Ben's backup?
“Absolutely," Vick continued. "That’s what this game is all about, it’s all about competition, it’s all about seeing how far you’re willing to go to make yourself a success or find success. Whatever it takes to help this football team.”
