Michael Vick On the Way Out in Philadelphia?

There has been plenty of talk that Michael Vick is going to be the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles this coming season; that his struggles from last season are outweighed by his athleticism, a key component when it comes to running Chip Kelly's read-option offense.

Those that think so are overlooking some things that are really quite obvious. In fact, it would not be shocking to see the Eagles trade him away for a late round draft pick.

Michael Vick looked great when he took over the starter's role a few years ago when Kevin Kolb was injured. All of a sudden he appeared like he could pass; a skill that had by and large alluded him during his tenure in Atlanta (where his best completion percentage was 56.4 percent; to put it into perspective Mark Sanchez's best has been 56.2 percent).

As soon as defenses starting to protect against the pass it was back to the same ole' Vick. He had to make decisions on the go--something that has never been his strong suit--and he was back to his lackluster self.

Part of it you can blame on him trying to make plays, but the reality of it is he was always an exceptional athlete and just a decent football player. Earlier this off-season he thought he was doing himself a favor when he said fumbling would not be an issue this season now that he knows how to carry the ball (thanks to Kelly).

Instead he proved how lacking his overall skill set since he--a 33-year old veteran--didn't know how to carry a football right

While his speed is an asset in the read-option, Kelly has made it clear that it is the player with the best overall skill set that will the job since the offense is going to be much more than the read-option.

"...We have an offense that has great size to it in terms of what we're doing, and (the read-option) is just one small part of it. It's a weapon to be used....and what we want to do in our offense is have enough tools in our tool box that we can compete every Sunday. And then take those tools out.".

The question of course will be whether Kelly thinks either Nick Foles or Matt Barkley are up to the task. Foles has proven capable of leading the offense last season with a respectable showing after Vick was benched last season (and without some key pieces on offense).

Barkley was supposed to be the Golden Boy for USC last season, but looked like he needed some more seasoning instead. He hardly appeared to be an NFL talent, but the Eagles are banking on his skill set developing under Kelly tutelage.

Should Barkley and Foles both appear ready there is little chance that Vick plays. Kelly will want to look to the future instead. If that ends up being the case there will be little reason to keep Vick around.