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Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

Vick will return to the NFL after two seasons away, including 23 months in federal prison, and a league suspension that will end after Week 6 this year.

The Falcons host the Eagles in a Sunday game on Dec. 6, at the end of the regular season.

The controversial signal caller has gone through a whirlwind of highs and lows since the Atlanta Falcons drafted as the No. 1 pick in 2001.

He inked a $62 million deal that included a $15 million signing bonus. After a year waiting in the wings, took over the starting position in the 2002 season, and led the team to its first playoff berth since the 1998 NFC Championship season.

Sports watchers, at the time were calling Vick the most athletic player in the league, and comparing him to Gayle Sayers and O.J. Simpson in their heydays.

A broken ankle in 2003 shortened his season and stifled the team’s momentum. And head coach Dan Reeves paid the price, losing his job.

The following year Vick gained more ground yardage than any quarterback in league history, leading the Falcons’ to the NFC title game where they would lose to the Philadelphia Eagles.

His performance for the 2004 season netted him a second career season of MVP talks and a record $130 million contract.

But off-field drama seemed to plague the Falcons star from that point as his performance on the field waned.

First there was the 2005 lawsuit from a woman claiming Vick knowingly gave her herpes, and that he went to test for the virus under the pseudonym “Ron Mexico.”

During a rough 2006 season, after a home loss to New Orleans, Vick lost his cool and flipped off fans he said were taunting him and teammates.

And in 2007, he was stopped by security officials in a Miami airport carrying a water bottle with a hidden compartment, and allegedly smelling of an illegal substance.

And in 2008, Vick was indicted for financing an illegal dogfighting ring from a home he owned in Virginia, leading to and 18-month prison sentence and suspension from the league.

By MARCUS K. GARNER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Report: Vick to be an Eagle| ajc.com

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