The Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback competition finally came to a close on Tuesday, when Chip Kelly officially named Michael Vick the team’s starting quarterback. He has beaten out second-year signal-caller Nick Foles for the job.
For those who have watched the Eagles during the preseason, the move is not a surprise. Vick has been incredibly sharp in two games, completing 13 of 15 passes for 199 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. He connected with DeSean Jackson on a perfectly thrown deep ball against the New England Patriots in Philly’s first preseason game and has been very accurate throwing the ball down the field.
Prior to preseason play, the common belief was that the odds were stacked against Vick. He will carry a much bigger cap hit than Foles this season, so the assumption was that Vick would have to outshine Foles in order to justify the money he is being paid rather than simply keep pace with him. He has done just that and obviously proven his worth to Kelly.
Of course, things can change in a hurry. Vick has been incredibly injury prone throughout his career and Kelly runs a unique offense, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Foles play a major role for the Eagles this season. But for now, Vick simply appeared to respond more to the challenge of battling for a starting position.
