Plaxico's Second Chance Depends on Mike Vick

As the smoke clears on the Michael Vick drama, Plaxico Burress is set to begin his own time behind bars after pleading guilty to weapons charges in New York.

For Mike Vick, the waiting game is over. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, getting his shot at redemption.

Everyone deserves a second chance—let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

But Plaxico's second chance may directly tie in to Vick's.

If Vick becomes a model citizen, does nothing wrong, plays to his potential and becomes a star in the NFL again, look for teams to be more willing to sign Burress when he becomes a free man.

If Vick can't keep his nose clean, becomes a headache to the Eagles and does not stay out of trouble, then teams will be a lot less willing to give Plaxico a second chance once he is a free man again.

As the saying goes, "once bitten, twice shy." NFL teams were quick to say how they would not sign Vick due to his history.  The only teams willing to take a chance on him were teams that already had an established quarterback on the roster.

The Eagles, with Donovan McNabb, and the Cincinnati Bengals, with Carson Palmer, are the only teams that showed interest.

Both teams, if Vick becomes a problem, could immediately cut him, and no real damage would be done.

The many teams with serious quarterback issues, including St. Louis, Denver, San Francisco and others, who have no established Quarterback on the roster, showed no interest.

Had Vick not gone to prison, and was a free agent, he probably would have received a contract from one of those teams for Eli Manning-type money.

So, as Plaxico watches for the next year and more, there will be no man on the face of this earth rooting for Vick to be successful as one Plaxico Burress.