Michael Vick Is Active For Giants-Eagles Game

Vick has seen it as well and, well, now he kinda agrees with it.

Vick has since softened his stance on the refs and apologized, saying he doesn’t want any special treatment. Good on him for taking a step back, wiping off his bib, taking a comforting sip from his baby bottle and moving on.

Vick was in practice this week working with the first team so he was expected to play this week. If he weren’t active, it’d be QB Mike Kafka back there and the dynamics of this game would have changed dramatically.

A topic of conversation early in this game will be Vick’s health, and how he hopes to prevent a future concussion.

If for some reason Vick cannot go, back up quarterback Mike Kafka would be the expected starter for the Eagles. Kafka finished last weeks game against the Falcons, posting some pretty impressive numbers. Kafka completed 7 of 9 of his pass attempts for 72 yards late in the fourth quarter.

A questionable status typically denotes a player has a “50-50” shot of playing in the game. If the Eagles were not going to start Vick on Sunday, I would think they’d have ruled him out already or listed him as a game time decision.

For one, Vick has already been cleared by doctors to return to practice. An independent doctor must evaluate and clear players who received concussions which, as the Eagles announced, was done with Vick. He passed the tests.

Another sign he’s starting is that he was lining up with the first team on Thursday, which is usually reserved for the starting quarterback.

We’ll see how the Eagles list him on the practice report Thursday afternoon. He was running through individual drills so you would think he would at least be a limited participant. They had him listed as a non-participant on Wednesday -- but he did participate in the walkthrough -- and by Friday they’ll have to label him as probable, questionable, doubtful or out. He also has to pass a concussion test.

Obviously the Eagles chances of winning this week would plummet if Mike Kafka, and not Vick, got the start against the Giants, so this will be one of the key injuries to monitor. It’s been reported that the Eagles believe he will play on Sunday.

Participating in the non-contact walkthrough is a good first step, but it does not appear that he’s been cleared to practice. The team’s official practice and injury report has not yet been released, but early reports on Twitter indicate that he did not participate. “Vick is jogging around gingerly and watching, tossing a football with Doooooooce,” tweeted Reuben Frank, who covers the Eagles for CSNPhilly.com. “Vick will be listed as did not participate. He’s just out here watching.”

Earlier in the day, Eagles head trainer Rick Burkholder told reporters that Vick is currently symptom-free, although he cautioned that symptoms may still re-appear later in the week. “Just because he doesn’t have symptoms today doesn’t mean he won’t have symptoms tomorrow,” Burkholder said. “You can’t predict.”

“Eagles quarterback Mike Vick still will have to pass his concussion tests,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on Twitter early Wednesday morning, “But the Eagles believe he should be able to play Sunday.”

The concussion tests are an important addition to the NFL’s policies as they look to protect players from long-lasting brain injuries, a problem many NFL players have dealt with following their playing careers. The fact that it seems Vick is healthy enough to play this week if he’s able to pass those tests makes it seem likely that Eagles’ doctors think there is a chance Vick is healthy enough to indeed be cleared to play this weekend.

It’s always bothered me to see concussions deemed slight, mild or labeled with other terms downplaying their significance. In that regard, we have no idea how “severe” Vick’s concussion is, but just looking at how he acted and what he looked like following the hit that knocked him out of the game, it became clear something was wrong. Vick was reportedly moving around slowly in the locker room, still suffering the effects of the concussion.

So where does he go from here? It’s not as simple as a doctor shining a light in his eyes and giving him a thumbs up. There are stringent rules in place when it comes to concussion testing, and rightfully so. Each fall, every player is put through a baseline test, then measured against that test to determine when they’re over the concussion. Vick will have to go through this process, which will be ongoing throughout the week, and must pass before being medically cleared to play.

Though the initial reports said Vick had a neck injury, Eagles head coach Andy Reid told reporters it was a concussion that knocked his star quarterback out of the game. Vick never did return from the locker room, where he was reportedly undergoing further tests.

While a concussion is never good, and can be a tricky injury, it is better news than a possible neck injury. It’s unknown how long Vick will be out, and the timetable will depend on when he passes his concussion tests, administered by the training staff to diagnose whether a player is over their symptoms.

Vick immediately left the game after the hit. The NBC cameras caught Vick spitting up blood after the play, which raised many alarm bells. However, Tafoya reports that is only because he bit his tongue on the way down.

For more on this game, check out our Eagles blog Bleeding Green Nation and our Falcons blog The Falcoholic. To catch up on NFL Week 2’s action, visit our StoryStream.

He was slow to get up, but he was able to walk off the field. However, he did labor to come off the field. On the sidelines Vick was seen spitting up blood. After a few minutes he left the sidelines and went to the locker room.

For more on this game, check out our Eagles blog Bleeding Green Nation and our Falcons blog The Falcoholic. To catch up on NFL Week 2’s action, visit our StoryStream.