I'd rather have Vick than Alex Smith. They must be worried about PETA protests.
Smith still in the mix for 49ers, but Vick outTom FitzGerald, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
(02-17) 21:55 PST -- Alex Smith hasn't been given up for dead by the 49ers, but they have ruled out another quarterback who was once the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft: Michael Vick.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The 49ers have no interest in Michael Vick," a team spokesman said Tuesday night.
On Monday night, coach Mike Singletary did not rule out a trade for the imprisoned Vick. "We have to sit down and talk about that," he said. "But for right now, we have enough on our plates."
After addressing season-ticket holders at a "state of the franchise" affair in San Mateo, he said club executives to this point have not talked about Vick "in great detail."
Team President Jed York indicated to The Chronicle on Tuesday afternoon that a deal for Vick was "not something we're looking at," but he didn't rule it out, either.
Asked about the public-relations fallout that would probably follow any team's acquisition of Vick, York said, "I don't know if he has completely paid his debt to society, but considering the money he has lost and the time he has spent in prison, he has certainly paid part of that debt." At the moment, he said, "It's not something we're looking at."
Over the next few hours, however, the 49ers decided to make it clear that they won't go after Vick, period. He is scheduled to be released July 20 after serving a 23-month sentence - minus time off for good behavior - on federal dog-fighting conspiracy charges.
The NFL hasn't ruled when Vick would be eligible to return to action, but the Falcons have said they intend to trade his rights. He was indefinitely suspended by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in 2007 and has not yet applied for re-instatement, league spokesman Greg Aiello said Tuesday.
Vick is out of the 49ers' picture, but Smith is very much back in it, although he will have to accept a substantial pay cut for the privilege.
Though Shaun Hill, the 49ers' incumbent, is 7-3 as a starter, including a nice second half of the 2008 season, the 49ers insist there's going to be a race for the starting spot.
"I definitely think Alex can pan out in this league, whether it's with us or somebody else," York said. "He has showed that it's not about the money with him. He wants to prove that he can be a good player."
At the San Mateo function, general manager Scot McCloughan said discussions with Smith's agent to reduce his scheduled $9.625 million base salary for 2009 are going well. Smith's contract also calls for slightly more than $15 million in 2010.
Smith missed all of last season as a result of a recurrence of shoulder problems and underwent surgery but he'll compete with Hill for the starting job, Singletary said.
Left out of the equation is ex-49er Jeff Garcia, who turns 39 next week and is about to be released by Tampa Bay. Singletary indicated he doubted Garcia would be an improvement over Hill. It also is considered highly unlikely that the 49ers would use their No. 10 overall draft pick on a quarterback because they have so many other pressing needs.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/17/SPM915VLD9.DTL&type=49ers
