Trainer: Eagles don’t have timetable on Vick
Published: September 19th, 2011 | Tags: Michael Vick, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Rick Burkholder, Todd Herremans
Michael Vick suffered a concussion Sunday night, knocking him out of his Atlanta homecoming. The next question becomes, when will Vick be back under center for the Eagles?
Eagles head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder was posed that question Monday, but he wasn’t ready to elaborate.
“I can’t give you a timeframe on this,” he said. “That’s foolish on our part, medically, to put that out there. Everyone wants to know (a) timeframe. Everyone wants to know whether Mike is going to play. We’re going to go through our protocol.
“When Mike is ready to practice, I’ll turn him over to coach, and he’s going to make a decision whether he’s ready to play.”
Vick was injured when he was spun by a Falcons rusher into Eagles lineman Todd Herremans. NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora reported earlier Monday that Vick wanted to re-enter the game, but the team wouldn’t permit it.
Burkholder made it clear it’s too soon to know how much time Vick needs. The quarterback will have to pass baseline concussion tests before a return to action.
“I keep emphasizing, we’re 13 hours post-injury,” Burkholder said. “There’s a lot that has to go on between now and then to make that decision. For me to sit up here and guess on that, it’s not fair to Michael, it’s not fair to coach, it’s not fair to us, the NFL, anybody.”
In the past, a quarterback could will himself back into the lineup after suffering an injury like this. But new league mandates mean Vick won’t play until the tests say he can.
The “Dream Team” has been met with its first true crisis.
– Dan Hanzus