Michael Vick to Start First Game in Nearly Four Years

Kevin Kolb was officially announced out on Friday for the Eagles Sunday matchup with the Detroit Lions. It will be Vick’s first NFL start since the Atlanta Falcons’ final game of the 2006 season against, ironically enough, the Philadelphia Eagles. Kolb suffered a concussion during the team’s season opening game against Green Bay last week.

Vick missed all of the 2007 and 2008 seasons after he was implicated in a dogfighting ring. He served a little over 7 months in a federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas from December ’07 to July ’08 for his involvement in the ring. The Eagles signed Vick at the beginning of last season, and Vick joined the team after serving a four game suspension handed down by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for Vick’s dogfighting activities. Playing primarily as a Wildcat formation option, Vick totaled just 86 yards on 6 of 13 passing with one touchdown. He also ran the ball 24 times for 95 yards and two scores in the 2009 season.

When Kolb went down last week, Vick took over and passed his ’09 season totals in one half, rushing for 103 yards and going 16 for 24 passing for 175 yards and a touchdown in a near-comback against the Packers. Vick has spent the entire week practicing with the Eagles’ first-team offense and is excited to get a chance to start an NFL game again.

“This is a big game,” Vick said in an interview with NFL.com. “It’s not about me making my first start or none of that. I’ve put all of that aside. It’s about us going on the road and trying to get a win. We need to go out there and get a win, that’s what matters. Nobody wants to be 0-2. “It would be gratifying,” Vick said of leading the Eagles to a win. “This team took a chance on me when not many others would.”