Should the Vikings Trade for Michael Vick?

Oct 28, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick (7) passes the ball during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. The Falcons defeated the Eagles 30-17. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The readership didn’t seem too keen on the idea of the Vikings swinging a trade for receiver Braylon Edwards. All right then how does this one strike you? How about the Vikings fix their offensive issues by making a change to the guy throwing the passes instead of the guys catching them? How about they trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for quarterback Michael Vick, who is reportedly about to be benched in favor of rookie Nick Foles? Any takers?

Pretty far-fetched, I admit. Also probably not a great idea from a pure football point of view. Bad as Christian Ponder has been playing, you can’t say Vick would necessarily be an upgrade. You think Ponder takes a beating? Vick takes a worse beating than anyone. Of course part of that is the way Andy Reid tries to use him. The idea of helping your QB by running the ball has never been popular with Reid.

It’s different on the Vikings, who have Adrian Peterson to take some pressure off any QB they put in there. So there’s your first argument in favor of Vick. Maybe on a run-first team he would be more successful. And if you want to talk about track record, well Vick does have some success in his past. Certainly more than Christian Ponder or Joe Webb. Or any of the other potential options out there.

But of course there are other very prohibitive factors at work. For one thing, you’d have to do something about Vick’s contract which is set to pay him $15.5 million next year. No way the Vikes take on that salary. There would have to be a serious re-negotiation involved in the deal. And then there’s the matter of what Philly would want back. The Vikes gave up two sixth-rounders, one conditional, to get Donovan McNabb. Would that be enough to get this deal done? I doubt Philly would get much more than that. In fact there is talk the Eagles might end up cutting Vick outright. In which case the Vikings, or any other team, could just sign him and not have to worry about trading picks.

In the end, there are probably too many pitfalls to make this deal a sensible one for the Vikings. Vick’s health is a factor after all the hits he’s taken. And then there’s the question of whether you could fit him quickly into a new offense. Would changing QBs mid-stream really be a helpful move? Or would you just end up putting your long-term plans in the crapper in the name of short-term aspirations?

I go back to what I said the other day about Christian Ponder. He’s the only realistic option. That’s why it’s silly to even talk about benching him. Adding Vick discussion into the mix doesn’t really change that. The Vikings need to ride it out with Ponder. That’s what they’re planning to do and that’s what they will do. So, Vick-to-Minnesota will just have to remain a pipe dream. But it’s fun to talk about.

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