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After all of the previous Michael Vick comebacks – He’s out of jail! He’s working out! He’s giving a speech! He ate a Pop Tart! He signing! He’s in a preseason game! – everything could become a little more official Sunday when he is expected to play in a real NFL game against Kansas City.

There’s nothing official yet. Eagles coach Andy Reid won’t publicly commit to Vick playing, and I’m guessing he won’t before kickoff. But his suspension is up, and Donovan McNabb is injured, and messing with Kevin Kolb’s timing probably isn’t a major concern since he’s not that good, anyway. Even the Chiefs expect him to play.

There was an interesting column in the Philadelphia Inquirer today by Phil Sheridan. He wrote that the Eagles’ signing of Vick was less about Philly giving somebody a second chance or even Reid’s belief in him as a starting NFL quarterback than it was his seeming obsession with the “Wildcat” offense. An excerpt:

“This was and is about Andy Reid’s fascination with the Wildcat offense and his belief that Vick can make it into something truly effective. Any doubt about that was removed Sunday and Monday, when Reid went Wildcat happy against the New Orleans Saints, got crushed on the field, and then went out of his way to defend his gimmicky game plan in his day-after news conference.

“It all came together: The Eagles didn’t sign Vick in order to facilitate his Tony Dungy-led return to the league. They didn’t sign him because Reid has been changed by his sons’ difficulties with drugs and the law. They didn’t sign him to groom as a replacement for Donovan McNabb or to flip him for a draft choice in an off-season trade. … This was about Reid’s infatuation with the Wildcat. Period.”

I’m inclined to agree with Sheridan. But if you’re Vick, you’re not going to complain about being signed only to be used in a gimmick offense. Because, like, what were the options — work at the same grocery store as Red Redding when he got out of Shawshank?

But to me, it feeds into how Vick might be perceived by NFL teams. The question: How good would he have to be in the Wildcat to be considered good enough for a start job? Or will he be a gimmick QB for the remainder of his career? Your thoughts?

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