Michael Vick Trade Rumor

[Nick]

The Oakland Raiders are preparing to make a run at Falcons QB Michael Vick, according to NFL sources. The Raiders package would include receivers Randy Moss and Jerry Porter plus the No.1 overall pick in the 2007 draft for Vick and the Falcons first round pick (10th overall).

http://www.benmaller.com/nfl_rumors_notes

[laram0]

Whoa! Nelly!

Just what the Raiders need, another clown to add to their CIRCUS!

[Revelstoke]

There has been a lot of talk about Vicks contract and the harness it puts on the Falcons if they want to move him.

What implications does a deal like this have in terms of the dollars?

Its a clown for a clown. Its all about balance i guess.

If and obviously its a big if, what do the falcons do wtih #1 overall?

Man they could have 2 top ten picks couldnt they?

[r8rh8rmike]

If true, sounds like Al is trying to give Atlanta an offer they can't refuse.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by Revelstoke

There has been a lot of talk about Vicks contract and the harness it puts on the Falcons if they want to move him.

What implications does a deal like this have in terms of the dollars?

I posted this on another thread on Vick...

"If the info I'm looking at is correct, Vick's deal included $37 million in signing bonus money - one initial bonus of $7.5 million, one roster bonus of $22.5 million in March 2005, and one roster bonus of $7 million in 2006. All of them are treated as normal signing bonuses. Since Vick still has eight years left on that deal, the majority of that prorated bonus money has yet to count and would be accelerated if he were cut. If I had to guess, I would think trading/cutting him afer this season would give the Falcons closer to a $30 million accelerated hit for 2007, which frankly would be extremely hard if not impossible to absorb."

According to the cap report posted in this forum, the Falcons are only looking at $10 million in cap room. Even if my above figure is off, I don't think I'm off by $15-20 million unless I've completely missed something there.

Originally Posted by Revelstoke

Man they could have 2 top ten picks couldnt they?

No, I doubt the Raiders trade away the first overall pick without getting a first rounder in return.

[RamOfDenmark]

Such a trade would be a steal for the Falcons (at least when not looking at the cap hit). Michael Vick has proved time and time again he's not a quality NFL quarterback IMO. Vick may sell tickets and make the highlight reel real often, but honestly who can't name at least 15 other QB's in the NFL that are better than him? It's the mental aspect, Vick just makes plain bad decisions and I get the feeling he's not exactly a "student of the game" either, since his decision making hasn't really improved much after several years in the league. Vick is a liability as a player, and even worse because of the extreme contract he commands, taking up a large percentage of a team's cap.

If I were with the Falcons I'd be looking at some way to get rid of Vick. Start Schaub for a while (I think he is a pretty decent QB, perhaps even a potential longterm starter) see if he is their franchise QB, or otherwise look at a high first round pick to grab a solid QB. This trade seems to accomplish all of that, the only problem would be the cap hit, Arthur Blank (Falcons' owner) made a huge mistake when he committed his organisation to Vick the way they did with that HUGE contract.

[jkramsfan]

if that rumor is true,then it's a no-brainer,make that deal,but as Nick stated the cap repercusions would be extreme.

[moklerman]

Is a trade considered the same as a cut in terms of accelerated cap hit? If Oakland agrees to take on his contract, or a portion of it, can that be done?

[Nick]

Here is more info on the Vick cap hit from Pro Football Talk...

THE CAP HIT FOR DUMPING VICK

As recently promised, we've dusted off our story from late November 2006 regarding the cap consequences for dumping running back Michael Vick.

We compiled the numbers at the time because Vick had just given some lingering fans a two-handed, two-fingered salute, and we surmised that it might be time for the franchise to start thinking about the cost of getting rid of the underachieving hype machine.

The figures takes on renewed relevance, now that Vick allegedly pitched into a recycling bin a bottle of Aquafina designed to carry a little Marijuana. (Maybe next time he should hide his alleged stash in a bottle of Lemoñadé.)

So here we go. Refresher course. For you, and for us.

Trading Vick before June 1, 2007 would trigger a mind-numbing cap charge of $22.25 million. The dead money, factoring in the $6 million salary Vick wouldn't be paid in 2007, would be $16.25 million.

However, if the Falcons were to make the move after June 1, the cap charge for 2007 would drop to $7.57 million. And because the Falcons would be avoiding Vick's $6 million salary and carrying $7.57 million in bonus charges that would be there even if he is still on the team, the Falcons would actually free up $6 million in 2007 cap space.

Under this scenario, the problem would arise in 2008, when the Falcons would be hit with $14.68 million in cap charges. But the Falcons would avoid his $7.5 million salary. So the dead money would be only $7.18 million.

The Falcons also could dump Vick before June 1, 2007, and process the cap hit as if he were cut after June 1, which is one of the tweaks of the new CBA.

But we think that neither a trade nor an outright release of Vick in 2007 is likely. First of all, who would want him under his current contract, which has salaries of $6 million in 2007, $7.5 million in 2008, $9 million in 2009, $10.5 million in 2010, $12 million in 2011, $12.5 million in 2012, and $13.5 million in 2013? Second, we think that $16.25 million in dead money is too much to carry.

The more likely result would be a trade (with a renegotiated contract) in early 2008, when the Falcons would take a net cap hit of $7.18 million.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on what the Falcons do with backup quarterback Matt Schaub. He's a restricted free agent in March, and anyone who is willing to cough up the compensation will be able to snag him with a poison-pill offer sheet that, for example, guarantees the full value of a seven-year, $49 million contract if, for example, he plays more than five games in Atlanta or (perhaps more appropriately) anyone named "Michael Vick" is on the same team with Schaub for any game during the life of the deal.

The Falcons' best defense? To tender Schaub at the highest level, and to hope that no one will be willing to cough up a first-round pick and a third-round pick for the privilege of pilfering him.

[general counsel]

The rumour down here in atlanta is that the falcons are prepared to trade him to oakland, who has asked about him, for the #1, a #2 or 3, AND a 2008 #1 in exchange for vick and the 10. The falcons dont want moss, they want calvin johnson with that #1 pick and would gamble that the raiders are lousy again next year, thus getting a top 10 pick back in exchange for the #10 that they are giving up this year. I have heard this all over the place in atlanta, i think its highly unlikely the raiders make that deal, but with al davis fossilizing at a rapidly deteriorating rate, you never know.

I wouldnt dismiss out of hand the falcons trading vick to the raiders and a LOT of that is a function of the local climate here. Cap or no cap, vick has lost the bulk of his local support and if the falcons lose schaub they are left with a dismal future once vick ultimately either gets hurt or has another one or more off field incidents that make him untenable. Keep in mind that at some point, they are going to take a big cap hit with this guy. Doesnt it make more sense to take the pain now when they still have schaub who they can presumably sign to a relatively cap friendly deal since he is restricted AND still get something good for vick? If they wait, and the guy cant make it under petrino, they are screwed in all sorts of ways.

Ramming speed to all

ron mexico aka mr. false bottom

sorry, i meant general counsel