The newest episode of Tyreek Hill’s podcast, It Needed To Be Said, features former NFL quarterback Mike Vick . And in 90 minutes of It Needed To Be Said, one word that needed to be said was completely unsaid.
Dogfighting.
During the first 30 minutes or so of the discussion, it seemed that the conversation would never even address the two-year break in Vick’s career arising from his guilty plea to federal charges from dogfighting and gambling on dogfighting. (He somehow avoided being indicted on charges of animal cruelty in Virginia, despite admitted involvement in the killing of dogs that were deemed unfit to fight.) Although the word itself was still never mentioned, the discussion eventually touched on the broader issues arising from Vick’s off-field issues.
Vick, now 43, understands what happened and why. And he understands that the contracts he received carried obligations to act a certain way, and that those contracts allowed the Falcons to take back his money when he failed to do so. He also understands that he was a role model to the kids who cheered for him and looked up to him.
While reflecting on the situation, Vick expressed one important piece of regret. “I wish I had a father figure or somebody in my life — and I did, too, for the most part — but not to the point where somebody was like, ‘Yo, man, you can really screw all this up,’” Vick said. “Ain’t nobody came and said, ‘Bro, you can screw all this up.’ One person [did], I won’t say his name.”
That’s the perspective of the older Mike Vick. The younger Mike Vick wasn’t ready to accept and to understand the consequences. Indeed, the younger Mike Vick likely would have ignored anyone who told him what it could do to his career, the same way he ignored the “one person” who tried. The younger Mike Vick, even after things went sideways, actually still thought he had a future with the Falcons.
“The whole time like I was gone I thought they was gonna wait on me, but that was wishful thinking,” Vick said. “Like, I really thought like they was gonna wait for me to get back and all this would be over and then I step back in, be the starter, and we just move on like nothing ever happened. But that’s not reality. And I was hoping for something that just couldn’t happen.”
For six years, Vick maintained a secret (but clearly not secret enough) dogfighting operation on a rural estate in Virginia. Did he really not know that his involvement in such conduct could derail his NFL career and cost him millions, or did he just not care?
The full episode makes it abundantly clear that Vick at all times had keen awareness as to the business realities of being in the NFL, from the impact of taxes on his initial signing bonus to his desire to save as much money as possible. He was happy the Chargers didn’t draft him, for example, because the flights home would be significantly more expensive than the flights from Atlanta.
He explained that he bought a Maybach after signing his second contract with the Falcons, and that he was pulled over by a police officer who simply wanted to know what kind of car it was.
“I’m like, I don’t need this car,” Vick said. “Like, I don’t need this, bro. It’s too much attention. When the police stop you to ask you what type of car you in, you need to reconsider if you want to keep that car or not. . . . Sometimes I felt like the potential to create adverse situations, man, it’s how people look at it and how they feel. Just didn’t make me comfortable at times.”
Think about that one. Young Mike Vick wasn’t stupid. He knew what he was doing. He knew what would happen if someone found out what he was doing. He knew the importance of hiding it. He thought he would be able to, especially if he didn’t attract too much attention.
While it’s understandable that Vick doesn’t want to wallow in a mud puddle that he left behind 14 years ago, there’s a new generation of kids who might not even know what he did. They could learn plenty of lessons from his experiences, if they were aware of the key details. But if anyone who didn’t know what he did watched the latest episode of It Needed To Be Said, they still don’t know what he did, because it was never said.
In 2021, receiver Calvin Ridley instantly became known more for what he did off the field than for anything he had ever done on it. Now that he’s back after a full-year (and then some) gambling suspension, Ridley can get back to doing what he’d been doing before his career became derailed.
As new Jaguars teammate Jamal Agnew sees it, Ridley will be potentially derailing the careers of defensive backs.
“Just the way he moves, you can see,” Agnew recently told talkSPORT, via NFL.com. “His route running, he can run, catch anything you throw to him, he’s just different, man. You just watch him out there, he’s a mismatch nightmare. In my opinion, I don’t think anybody can guard him in the league.”
Ridley was already on that path after three full NFL seasons. A first-round pick from Alabama, Ridley had 821 yards in 2018 and 866 yards in 2019, as the second fiddle to Julio Jones. In 2020, with Jones missing seven games, Ridley had a breakout season, generating 1,374 yards in 15 games.
Now that he’s back and still only 28 years old, Ridley could soon pick up where he left off. With receiver Christian Kirk and tight end Evan Engram attracting attention from opposing defenses and with Trevor Lawrence emerging as a franchise quarterback, Ridley’s gambling suspension might ultimately become an unfortunate (and perhaps largely forgotten) donut hole in a great career.
Earlier in the week, a report emerged that the Falcons had promoted Kyle Smith and Ryan Pace in their front office.
Atlanta confirmed those moves on Wednesday while announcing several more.
Smith is now the team’s assistant General Manager with Pace becoming the director of player personnel.
Brian Zeches has been hired as player personnel coordinator. He was previously the West area scout for the Senior Bowl. He also worked with Smith at Washington.
The Falcons also announced that Shelly Harvey has been named an area scout and Ben Martinez has been named a pro scout. James McClintock has been named BLESTO scout and Hakeem Smith is now an assistant pro scout.
Additionally, the club noted Joey Galioto’s promotion to head of equipment operations with Ryne Nicholson as assistant equipment manager and Josh Peterson as an equipment assistant.
The Jets will be the first team to hit camp as their veterans report on July 19. The Browns will get underway two days later and the two teams will play each other in the Hall of Fame Game on August 3.
The Chiefs and Lions are the next to get underway as they will play in the first game of the regular season. The dates for rookies and veterans to report to camp for every team can be found below.
Cardinals: Rookies and Veterans 7/25
Falcons: Rookies 7/18, Veterans 7/25
Ravens: Rookies 7/18, Veterans 7/25
Bills: Rookies 7/18, Veterans 7/25
Panthers: Rookies 7/22, Veterans 7/25
Bears: Rookies 7/22, Veterans 7/25
Bengals: Rookies 7/22, Veterans 7/25
Browns: Rookies 7/19, Veterans 7/21
Cowboys: Rookies and Veterans 7/25
Broncos: Rookies 7/19, Veterans 7/25
Lions: Rookies 7/19, Veterans 7/22
Packers: Rookies 7/21, Veterans 7/25
Texans: Rookies and Veterans 7/25
Colts: Rookies and Veterans 7/26
Jaguars: Rookies 7/21, Veterans 7/25
Chiefs: Rookies 7/18, Veterans 7/22
Raiders: Rookies 7/20, Veterans 7/25
Chargers: Rookies 7/18, Veterans 7/25
Rams: Rookies and Veterans 7/25
Dolphins: Rookies 7/18, Veterans 7/25
Vikings: Rookies 7/23, Veterans 7/25
Patriots: Rookies 7/21, Veterans 7/25
Saints: Rookies 7/18, Veterans 7/25
Giants: Rookies 7/18, Veterans 7/25
Jets: Rookies and Veterans 7/19
Eagles: Rookies and Veterans 7/25
Steelers: Rookies and Veterans 7/26
49ers: Rookies 7/18, Veterans 7/25
Seahawks: Rookies and Veterans 7/25
Buccaneers: Rookies 7/24, Veterans 7/25
Titans: Rookies 7/22, Veterans 7/25
Commanders: Rookies 7/21, Veterans 7/25
The Falcons have made a pair of promotions in their front office.
According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Atlanta has moved Kyle Smith up to assistant G.M. and Ryan Pace to director of player personnel.
Smith has been with the Falcons since 2021 as vice president of player personnel, joining the club the same year as General Manager Terry Fontenot. He was previously with Washington from 2011-2020, moving from scout to vice president of player personnel in his last year with the team.
Pace, the former Bears G.M., joined the Falcons last year as a senior personnel executive. Pace and Fontenot worked together for many years with the Saints before Pace became Chicago’s G.M. back in 2015. He compiled a 48-65 record with the Bears before he was fired after a 6-11 season in 2021.