Through Head Coach Mike Tomlin’s tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers, there have been a plethora of well-known, top-talent veteran players who concluded their careers in Pittsburgh. Tomlin has built a respectable reputation for himself that has attracted, and continues to attract, players who are looking to be part of a winning team and one of the most successful franchises in professional football as their final curtain call. By simply looking at this year’s offseason, we’ve seen players fall into that similar category with Allen Robinson and Patrick Peterson. But in 2015, there was a veteran quarterback who came to the aid of a depleted Steelers' quarterback room.
Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press
Michael Vick (#2) runs out of the pocket with the Steelers in 2015.
The professional football career of Michael Vick was anything but average. After taking the college football scene by storm at Virginia Tech, Vick was the first overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft and headed to the Atlanta Falcons. Known for revolutionizing the quarterback position as being one of the best dual-threat players in NFL history, the Falcons’ offense with Vick under center was one of the best in the league throughout the early 2000’s. Then came the years 2007 and 2008.
In 2008, Vick pleaded guilty on charges stemming to an illegal dogfighting ring in Virginia. Authorities raided his kennels on his property in the summer of 2007 and found damning evidence that landed Vick in jail for 18 months and home confinement for roughly five more months after that. Being only 27-years old at that time and at the pinnacle of his NFL career, there will always be the notion of ‘what if’ when thinking back to his career. Vick joined Miami Dolphins’ wide receiver Tyreek Hill on Hill’s podcast, It Needed To Be Said, and revealed he should’ve listened to one potentially life-changing voice at that time.
“I wish I had a father figure or somebody in my life… and I did, too, for the most part… but not to the point where somebody was like, ‘Yo, man, you can really screw all this up,’” Vick said. “Ain’t nobody came and said, ‘Bro, you can screw all this up.’ One person [did], I won’t say his name.”
As Hill and Vick focused the conversation back to football, the evolution of the quarterbacks in the NFL came up. As mentioned above, Vick played a monumental role in taking the aspect of a ‘mobile quarterback’ to a whole other level. In Pittsburgh, fans were able to watch Kordell Stewart build the foundation that Vick used early in his career. Appropriately dubbed as “Slash,” Stewart posted over 13,000 passing yards, over 2,500 rushing yards, and 105 total touchdowns in his time in Pittsburgh.
Photo by Shelley Lipton / upi.com/sports
Michael Vick (#2) throws to Antonio Brown (#84) in Pittsburgh, PA in 2015.
As players and coaches have learned with that unique skillset, is the risk for injuries to skyrocket. Hill’s quarterback in Miami, Tua Tagovailoa, has been known to rely on his legs to pick up yards or to roll out of the pocket to extend plays. In the 2022 season, he infamously suffered multiple concussions after taking extremely violent hits. Those led Tagovailoa to miss four games and to even consider an early retirement.
Steelers' Kenny Pickett Can Learn From Michael Vick
While he isn’t a true dual-threat quarterback, the Steelers’ Kenny Pickett possesses sneaky-fast legs. After one of the best plays in college football in the last decade, Pickett literally forced the NCAA to re-write a rule after faking a slide on a run play on his way to the endzone. While Tomlin understands and openly-admires quarterbacks who have great situational mobility, Pickett has had to miss playing time with concussions, similar to Tagovailoa. Pickett suffered two concussions in a span of 56 days in his rookie season. In reference to Tagovailoa, Vick provided some advice for avoiding future injuries, but the sentiment echoes to Pickett and throughout the entire NFL.
“Get a little bit bigger. Get stronger. As you grow into your man body, that’s what needs to happen. Ain’t nothing wrong with picking up another 10 pounds, 15 pounds. … Don’t get hit. Don’t get knocked around.”
From the early glimpses we’ve seen of Pickett in the team’s minicamps, it looks like Pickett followed that exact plan. Pickett entered his rookie year clocking in at a slim 213 pounds. But after meeting with the Steelers’ staff and setting up a plan for the offseason, he came into camp at just under 230 pounds. Not to mention, Pickett began to don a new state-of-the-art helmet specifically designed to minimize concussions. With Pickett now bigger and freshly-protected, we can hope he’ll be on the field for all 17 games this regular season.
Abigail Dean / Pittsburgh Steelers
Kenny Pickett with his new helmet at the Steelers' minicamp in Pittsburgh, PA.
While Vick only played one season with the Steelers, he was a part of some of the most exciting games in recent memory. He remains as one of very few Steelers’ quarterbacks to be left-handed and made for an incredible pair with Le’Veon Bell. Vick ultimately retired in 2017 after sitting out for the 2016 season as a free agent, but he last wore a Steelers’ uniform to end his career. As Steelers’ starting quarterbacks, Vick and Pickett share a unique similarity that will never diminish.
Do you remember when Vick played for the Steelers? What are some of your favorite moments of him? Let us know in the comments below!
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