Vick released from federal custody

HAMPTON, Va. --- The electronic monitor came off Michael Vick's ankle and made him a free man Monday. Now he just has to convince NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and team owners he's reformed and ready to play.

• Photos

Associated Press

Former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick (left) finished his 23-month sentence for bankrolling a dogfighting operation and helping kill dogs.

It'll be no small task.

Vick's release after serving 23 months on a dogfighting conviction -- the last 60 days in home confinement -- came a week before NFL training camps open for veterans.

"It is going to take a lot of hard work" for Vick to make it back, said New York Jets veteran wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery. "He is a talented player, so someone will give him a shot. He just has to take advantage of it."

The last NFL game Vick played was Dec. 31, 2006, months before he was indicted on federal dogfighting conspiracy charges in July 2007. At 29, Vick could play several more years in the league.

That begins with a face-to-face meeting with Goodell, who has said he wants to see remorse and evidence of change from the player he suspended indefinitely. The last time they met, about two years ago, Vick denied his dogfighting involvement. Goodell has repeatedly said he would meet with Vick only after he completed his prison sentence, but it's unclear when that meeting will take place.

"The review of his status is ongoing, but we are providing no other details at this time," league spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday.

The owners of the Jets and the New York Giants said Monday that they have no interest in signing Vick. Giants owner John Mara and Jets owner Woody Johnson were emphatic in saying their quarterback positions were filled.

When asked whether the Giants had any interest, Mara replied, "On a lot of levels, no."

On Monday, two men arrived at Vick's home and removed the electronic monitor he wore while on home confinement. Vick's attorney, Lawrence Woodward, arrived while the men were inside.

Brenda Boddie, Vick's mother, wore a broad smile after the probation officials removed the monitor.

"He's doing fine," she said Monday afternoon, but she wasn't sure what his next step would be.

Vick served the first 18 months of his sentence at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., and two months on home confinement. The federal truth-in-sentencing law requires inmates to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence.

While on home confinement, Vick -- once the NFL's highest-paid player -- worked a $10-an-hour construction job for a few weeks. He switched jobs last month, assisting in children's health and fitness programs at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula.

Vick will remain on probation for three years. He also is under a three-year suspended sentence for a state dogfighting conviction. The case destroyed his finances, forcing him into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2008. A hearing on his plan to repay creditors is scheduled for July 31.