Falcons release Michael Vick

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By Charles Odum ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA | The Michael Vick era in Atlanta is officially over.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said the team relinquished its contractual rights to Vick on Friday.

"Michael remains suspended by the NFL," Dimitroff said. "However, in the event NFL commissioner Roger Goodell decides to reinstate Michael, we feel his best opportunity to re-engage his football career would be at another club."

The move was no surprise. Owner Arthur Blank has said Vick, a native of Newport News and former Virginia Tech standout, would not return to the Falcons.

Goodell has not committed to reinstating Vick after the quarterback completes his 23-month sentence on July 20 for running a dogfighting ring. Vick has been on home confinement in Virginia since leaving federal prison in Kansas on May 20.

Even while making it clear Vick had no football future with the Falcons, Blank has said he would be available to assist Vick.

"Our entire organization sincerely hopes that Michael will continue to focus his efforts on making positive changes in his life, and we wish him well in that regard," Dimitroff said Friday.

Vick was the Falcons No. 1 draft pick in 2001. He played six seasons with the team, but the Falcons moved on by making quarterback Matt Ryan their No. 1 pick last year. Ryan started every game as a rookie and led the Falcons to the playoffs.

Vick was the figurehead for the Falcons and, as a dual-threat quarterback, was one of the NFL's most dynamic stars from 2001-2006 before his sudden downfall.

Goodell said last month he would not make a decision on Vick before the end of his sentence.

"Once he's concluded that, I will make a judgment based on what he tells me and what I can determine from speaking to others and a final background check on this and make a determination at the right time," Goodell said.

Speculation about Vick's NFL future started even before his release from the Falcons.

Jim Mora, whose Vick-led team advanced to the NFC championship game in 2003, said this week he doesn't expect Vick to find a job with his Seattle team.

"I'll just say this for the record: We are very happy with the quarterbacks we have on our roster," Mora said. "We have no intentions of adding another player to our roster at this time. ... Just cut out the 'at this time,' because then people will speculate for the next three months. We have no intentions of adding a quarterback to our roster."

Even as he hopes for reinstatement from Goodell and begins his search for another NFL home, Vick faces other pressing priorities, including his crumbled finances.

On Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank Santoro set a July 2 deadline for Vick to submit a revised Chapter 11 plan. A hearing to confirm or reject the plan was set for Aug. 27.

Santoro said that if the new plan fails to address the shortcomings that prompted him to reject the first one in April, he will appoint an independent trustee to take over management of Vick's finances.