Michael Vick believes he will be a Week one starter

Michael Vick has had quite the roller coaster ride over the years; from signing the richest contract in NFL history as QB for the Atlanta Falcons in 2004, to being an inmate in a Federal Penitentiary for 21 months, to being the back up in Philidelphia to Donovan McNabb, to being the 2010 Comeback player of the year as the Eagles starter, and then back to the bench as Nick Foles' back up this past season.

If you take him for his word that roller coaster ride will still be continuing. He sat down to talk with NFL.com/Live's Radio Row and stated that he expects to be a Week 1 starter for the 2014 season. Who that team that he will be starting for is yet to be known, but one of the options that have been floating around about him is with our own Oakland Raiders.

Nobody can deny that Vick can be a game changing talent and the Raiders will definitely be looking at all their options for QB for next season. Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin both showed flashes last year but neither solidified their position as the Raiders starter and so the team will be looking to upgrade the position if they can for 2014.

It really becomes a question of whether or not adding Michael Vick would indeed be an upgrade for the Raiders. Pryor and McGloin are both young and Michael is not. He is at a robust 33 years of age and even in his younger days he was not always able to take the beatings that his style of play provided. How many more hits like the ones he goes through is he able to take is an important aspect to whether signing him would be an upgrade.

Ever since Vick was released from Prison he really does appear to be a changed man. Many, and rightfully so, will never be able to forgive him for his dogfighting notoriety but he has done nothing but try for redemption since his release. He has shown humility and understanding and has been widely praised as being an excellent teammate in Philly.

The way he handled being benched for Nick Foles and the way he handled the odd racial tension moment with Riley Cooper last off-season are two great examples of the type of maturity that he has gone through over the years. He did a despicable thing and its understandable to never be able to move on from it, but at least he is showing the actions that back up his talk about trying for redemption.

Despite his playmaking ability at times and his new found maturity, in the end the Raiders should pass on Michael Vick. He is just too old to be the right player for the Oakland QB spot, they need to find a young man to lead this team for years to come. Vick may have worked his way out of being the vile villain he once was, but his injury history, age and inconsistency are just too much to gamble on for a team that needs to get better in a hurry.