Michael Vick re-signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on a one-year, $10 million contract on Monday, allowing the team to fully move on from the $100 million contract they gave the quarterback before the 2011 season.
The team had a chance to get out of it due to the nature of Vick's deal after his dog fighting scandal, but the injuries and deterioration of play over the past few years could be a warning sign for teams with young, mobile quarterbacks that will be taking hits as their careers go on.
Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson all are likely to command high salaries once their rookie contracts are up and their teams should take care when thinking about what they do based on what happened in Philadelphia. Things have worked out for the Eagles now that they have Vick on the cheap, but if that didn't happen there is a chance that they would have traded or released him.
Vick played his way into the a 6-year, $100 million contract with almost $40 million in guaranteed money, but the team suffered for it, going 8-8 in 2011 and 4-12 this season. The deals are almost designed to fail, because the expectations are raised to incredible heights and sometimes the quality of the team takes a hit when too much money is wrapped up in one player.
Vick had issues with injuries all season and missed time with a concussion. He also turned the ball over at a high rate with fumbles and interceptions. Vick played in 10 games and racked up 2,362 yards and 12 touchdowns with 10 interceptions.
The team felt that based on the alternatives out there in free agency as well as the trade market, that Vick was there best shot at a quality quarterback for next season. Whether he can win the job from Nick Foles remains to be seen, but Vick should fit very well into new head coach Chip Kelly's system, because he has proven to more comfortable moving around in and out of the pocket while throwing rather than just dropping back
Robert Griffin has already shown the risks of being a mobile quarterback, as he had to get serious knee surgery, while Kaepernick and Wilson made it through the playoffs unscathed. But as more and more teams start using the system and finding players to fit in it, the more likely those running quarterbacks will take hits.
Vick will have the chance to win the starting job and even though he will be 33-years-old, the Eagles are willing to give him a chance now that they don't; have to worry about being held down by his large contract.
The three young stars all deserve to be compensated and they will down the road, but teams will need to start taking into account the number of hits these players take as the games go by. As the mobile quarterbacks start missing games, backups will be crucial and if general managers don't evolve, teams could be stuck in bad situations like the Colts were two years ago and Peyton Manning got hurt and the team had no solid backup to play.
Griffin is expected to make a full recovery, but anytime a serious knee injury occurs, the player naturally loses something out of it. Griffin is the quarterback teams always wanted Vick to be: agile and athletic, able to take off at a moment's notice and he's able to sling the ball just as well as Tom Brady.
Joe Flacco is looking for a $20 million contract and if prices keep going high for quarterbacks, teams will need to take a long hard look at how much and who they invest in for the most important position on the field.
