After the long and storied saga that was Michael Vick’s time in Atlanta, the dance is over. Michael Vick was released by the Atlanta Falcons today after a conversation with Falcon’s general manager Thomas Dimitroff. Dimitroff said that the move was about staying positive and having a clean slate going into the summer. The Falcons have been expected to cut bait with Vick for some time now, and apparently found no takers as far as working a trade. That said, they are glad to be starting fresh with no media controversy about the troubled former NFL football star.

Michael Vick was considered one of the most electrifying players in the NFL for much of his career with the Falcons. He was a playmaking quarterback that often hurt the opposition with his feet much more than his arms. As far as rushing quarterbacks, nobody ever did it better. That all came crashing down around Vick after he was caught running a dog fighting ring out of one of his properties in Virginia. The charge cost Vick the last two seasons as he spent them in federal prison. The quarterback has also had huge debts pile up in his time off the field.

This latest move by the Falcons has freed Vick up to now negotiate with other teams. The troubled star has paid his dues, and is finishing up his sentence on home arrest, he will be available to play for the coming season. Still, many teams are worried about the public relations nightmare that signing Vick could bring to their respective ball clubs. Vick became the fall guy for all the animal rights activists in the wake of his conviction. Still, he has made amends with many of those groups and claims to have turned over a new leaf.

With the current status of NFL quarterbacks in the league, their will likely be more than a couple teams interested in Vick. Some of the places in the NFL that Vick has been rumored to possibly land include San Francisco, Carolina, New England, and even in Seattle with former coach Jim Mora.

Jim Mora has said that he does not intend to add another quarterback to the roster, but that is what he would be expected to say. Carolina is an unlikely landing spot simply because owner Jerry Richardson puts a high premium on character issues. They learned their lesson with former wide reciever Rae Carruth, who killed his pregnant girlfriend in a murder for hire. New England and San Francisco seem like the most likely suitors. San Francisco is desperate to find a quarterback and New England needs a back up for Brady since Cassell moved on to Kansas City.