Michael Vick: Eagles Put Franchise Tag on Him, What Does It Mean?

The Philadelphia Eagles have announced that they have placed the franchise tag on QB Michael Vick. This means Vick will be paid the average salary of the five highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL, which figures out to around $20 million. Not a bad pay raise for a guy who made $5 million in 2010.

Vick had a breakout year in 2010, throwing for just over 3,000 yards, completing nearly 63 percent of his passes with a career-high 21 touchdown passes and 100.2 QB rating.

The Eagles offense was one of the best in the league with Vick under center. They finished third in the NFL with 439 points.

So what does this mean for the Eagles, their future, Kevin Kolb and the general direction of the team going forward?

How much slack will Vick be given going into 2011? Is Kolb the best insurance policy in the NFL?

There are a lot of questions that come as a result of this franchise designation, and we are here to answer them.

The franchise tag is a great thing for NFL teams to have because it gives them an opportunity to ensure that players are for real and not just one-year wonders.

In the Eagles' case with Vick, they want to see what he does in the offseason, how his conditioning goes and if he can stay healthy for an entire season.

Apparently there were serious concerns within the organization late last year about how much preparation Vick was actually doing for games. It sounds like he fell back into a pattern that he was in with Atlanta, where he would just try and coast by on his talent alone.

The Eagles need to see the player who took over at halftime of the 2010 season opener against the Packers, not the guy that they saw against Minnesota in Week 16 and Green Bay in the playoffs, before they sign him to a long-term deal.

Kevin Kolb was supposed to usher in a new era in Eagles history. He was taking over for Donovan McNabb, who got run out of town because he couldn't win a Super Bowl. He showed a lot of promise in the few games that he played in 2009, and that gave the Eagles the motivation to move McNabb.

However, Kolb struggled against the Packers in the 2010 season opener and suffered a concussion. Michael Vick took over and the Eagles never looked back.

Kolb is still young and talented enough that some team will make a good offer to acquire his services. The Eagles could use some help on defense, where they really struggled to stop teams once they got in the red zone.

Having Kolb is a very nice bargaining chip that the Eagles can flip to some team to make them even more dangerous in 2011.

The beauty of having two quarterbacks who are capable of starting in the NFL is that it keeps the incumbent on his toes.

Michael Vick was great in 2010, but he did show holes in his game at the end of the year. Plus, he had his career year at age 30. Most athletes are in their prime between ages 26-29. He doesn't have the wear and tear on his body that some players do because he missed two full seasons, but you still have to be weary of a player who has a peak year after age 30.

Plus, Vick missed four games in 2010 due to injury, and he has never been the most durable guy in the world, which makes the Eagles' backup QB even more valuable. They know that it's entirely possible Vick will get hurt at some point next season, and they don't want to risk handing the reins over to Mike Kafka.

Even if the Eagles have questions about what kind of player Vick will be long term, as they should, they will be well positioned to make a run in the playoffs again in 2011.

They are still loaded with playmakers on offense, so even if Vick doesn't have the kind of year that he did in 2010, they should still be one of the better offenses in the league. They don't need Vick to be as great as he was last year in order to win the NFC East.

For the Eagles to win a Super Bowl, the defense has to get stronger. If they don't, it won't matter how good Vick is for them next season.

There's no room for loyalty in sports. The Eagles shouldn't feel like they are obligated to sign Vick to a long-term contract just because he had one good year for them. Remember, Vick was given the biggest contract in NFL history with Atlanta in 2005, and that blew up in the Falcons' face.

So why would the Eagles take a risk on a significant long-term investment in Vick, when it could just blow up in their face somewhere down the road?

They are doing the smart thing by making him prove his true worth to this franchise, and by showing just how dedicated he is to being successful in the NFL.

If Vick is unhappy with the franchise designation and he takes his frustrations out on the organization, he can still be traded. It's not a likely scenario to come out of this whole situation, but it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

We see it every year when guys are designated with the franchise tag, but hold out because they want a long-term contract. Sometimes those players are traded, sometimes they reach a long-term agreement with their current team and sometimes they hold out for the first six weeks of the season, hoping to get a long-term deal worked out.

If Vick is so insulted by this designation, and there doesn't appear to be any evidence suggesting he is, he can hold out for a trade. But with the labor unrest, it wouldn't be a wise move on his part to do so.

Even if Vick thinks that the franchise tag is a slap in the face, he wouldn't get a better deal anywhere else. Teams are still very concerned about his character, and what bringing him in can mean to the public perception of the franchise, so they would avoid a big money deal with him.

He's still going to make $20 million in 2011 (assuming there is a season), so it's not like he is going to be hurting for money.

Despite the need that a number of teams have at the quarterback position, no one would give Vick a better deal than what he is going to get for next year.

I said earlier that there's no room for loyalty in sports, and that's true. However, in this instance Vick should be giving the Eagles a break with this franchise designation.

This franchise took a chance on him right after he was released from federal prison and they signed him when he was considered untouchable. He was a pariah in the eyes of not only the NFL, but the public as well.

They gave him a chance to get back into the NFL, and he should be understanding why they are reluctant to give him a long-term contract.

I touched on the labor unrest earlier, so we might as well dwell on it here. Since free agents can't be signed until there is a resolution to this labor situation, which seems to be getting worse with each passing day, the Eagles had no choice but to designate Vick with the franchise tag.

It's a similar situation to what's going to happen with Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. The two sides can't reach a deal, so the team designates its player with the franchise tag, and they will continue to negotiate once the labor situation is resolved and Vick's performance on and off the field is worth a long-term investment.

This was the best option for both the player and team given where everything stands with the NFL owners and players right now.

Tell us what you think of the Eagles placing the franchise tag on Michael Vick. Does it make sense to you? Why or why not?

Should the Eagles keep Kevin Kolb to back Vick up or move him to improve other areas of the team?