The Philadelphia Eagles have dealt with injuries all season and suffered another one this past Sunday as quarterback Nick Foles broke his hand in the loss to the Washington Redskins.
The injury forced the team to place Foles on injured reserve on Wednesday and the Eagles will now look to Michael Vick to start against the New York Giants in Week 17. Vick had previously been benched in favor of Foles by head coach Andy Reid, but the injury has forced him into action.
The Eagles are just 4-11 this season and have won only one of the six games that Foles has started since taking over for Vick, who at the time was dealing with a concussion. The 23-year-old rookie threw for 1,157 yards and five touchdowns with just two interceptions while completing 61 percent of his passes before hurting his hand.
Vick was awful for the Eagles during the first half of the year, throwing for 2,165 yards and 11 touchdowns with 19 turnovers, including 10 fumbles, five of which he lost. The Eagles lost the last five games Vick started and gave up at least 26 points to opponents in each of his last four games.
There have been rumors that both the New York Jets and the Arizona Cardinals are interested in signing Vick if he is released after the season, but the quarterback said that his future in the NFL does not depend on the game on Sunday.
"I'm not going out to audition for a job. I'm going out to try and win," Vick said to USA Today Sports. "My play and what I've done for this league and the accolades that I have speak for themselves. The thing I want to do is improve. Whatever happens next year happens. I'm just going to be a guy who, wherever I'm at, I'm going to make the team better."
The Eagles are likely to part ways with Vick after the season even though they signed him to a $100 million contract in 2011. There is a clause in his deal that allows the Eagles to release him without any long-term penalties if they do it by Feb. 6.
Vick took hold of the starting position for the Eagles three years ago and threw for 3,018 yards and 21 touchdowns with only six interceptions during the 2010 season. He was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year for his performance and completed over 60 percent of his passes for the first time in his career.
Vick has regressed greatly over the past two seasons, throwing 23 interceptions and fumbling 20 times while completing less than 60 percent of his passes. He was one of the most dynamic players in football while with the Atlanta Falcons, but flamed out after his involvement in a dog fighting ring was revealed. After serving prison time, Vick signed with the Eagles and played in 12 games as a backup before taking over the starting job in 2010.
Foles was taken in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft and threw for 345 yards and one touchdown in his final game against the Redskins before breaking his hand. He had a season-high 381 yards passing two weeks ago to help the Eagles end a nine-game losing streak and also had a career-high two touchdown passes in that game.
The Eagles have dealt with numerous injuries on offense this season, including to leading rusher LeSean McCoy, who battled a concussion, and wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who was placed on injured reserve a few weeks ago with a rib injury.
Philadelphia started the season with two one-point wins over the Browns and the Ravens, but lost their following game 27-6 against the Cardinals, who are currently in a free fall after staring 4-0. The Eagles won their next game against the Giants 19-17, but then lost eight games in a row to fall out playoff contention.
There are likely to be many changes with the Eagles next season, including at the head coaching spot. Reid is on the hot seat and with Vick likely gone next season, Foles will be the quarterback of the future.
The Eagles also signed defensive tackle Antonio Dixon to a two-year contract and added linebacker Marcus Dowtin to the practice squad. Dixon played in two games for the Indianapolis Colts this season. He spent three seasons in Philadelphia from 2009 to 2011 and has made 51 tackles with 3.0 sacks in his career.
Philadelphia is ranked 27th in the league in scoring with 18.2 points per game and is giving up over 350 yards of total offense per game, including 217 through the air. The Eagles will try to salvage their season against the New York Giants, who much win to stay alive in the NFC playoff hunt.