Months after hitting the open market, veteran quarterback Michael Vick is making his first free agent visit, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that Vick is on his way to Pittsburgh to meet with the Steelers.
Vick, 35, has indicated this offseason that he would like to play in the NFL for three more years, but he hasn’t drawn a ton of interest since his contract with the Jets expired in March. Last year in New York, Vick completed just 52.9% of his passes, throwing for 604 yards and adding another 153 yards on the ground in limited action, including three starts.
The Steelers may be in the market for a new backup for Ben Roethlisberger after Bruce Gradkowski left this weekend’s preseason game with a hand injury. According to Schefter (via Twitter), Gradkowski dislocated a finger on his left hand and is having surgery today. Since it’s not an injury to his throwing hand, Gradkowski shouldn’t be sidelined for too long, but Pittsburgh appears to be considering some veteran insurance nonetheless.
Besides Roethlisberger and Gradkowski, the Steelers are also currently carrying former fourth-round pick Landry Jones and undrafted free agent Tyler Murphy at the quarterback position. While Jones could be a candidate for the No. 2 job, Murphy isn’t expected to make the roster.
The Steelers seem to be pretty happy with Gradkowski, and he knows the system well at this point, so it’s odd they would be looking at Vick, who obviously is a very different type of quarterback than Ben (despite Ben’s scrambling ability). If they were looking for insurance, you’d think they’d be looking for a more traditional pocket passer.
I agree, but it’s not like there are a ton of other options out there, assuming Gradkowski is going to miss time. I don’t think Landry Jones is an NFL-quality player (even as a backup), so Vick might be the only route they can take right now.