More on the Vick plea agreement

As everyone already knows already, Michael Vick has agreed to plea guilty today for his dog fighting charges. This isn't really a shocker to anyone, since he pretty much had no other options. According to ESPN.com and The Associated Press, the prosecutors will be recommending 12 to 18 months in jail. And, even though it is highly unlikely, the judge could add to this if he so chooses, although the safe bet is that he will stick within these guidelines. Although the rumors I have been hearing say that this judge leans towards the maximum allowed, so we will have to just wait and see.

Vick is scheduled to plead guilty on Monday, August 27th. But, I believe this doesn't mean he will be sentenced on Monday. In the cases of Vick's three co-defendants, they all plead guilty but will not find out how long they will be in jail until December. I see no reason why it would be different in Vick's case, but I'm not a lawyer.

This isn't the worst news for Vick though, and if what I have heard is correct, the easy part is over for Vick. The state of Virginia is still possibly going to press charges, and according to this article published last Friday, they will.

The bad newz for Vick here is that if he pleads guilty to killing any of the dogs, the state of Virginia will be able to use that in their case against him, and the penalties from the state are much worse than what the federal court is offering. Virginia's penalty is 5 years in jail per animal.

So what does this all mean for Vick and his days in the NFL? Well, they are almost done.

The NFL noted in a statement that Vick's admission wasn't in line with what he told commissioner Roger Goodell shortly after he was initially charged. League sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Goodell likely will suspend Vick indefinitely and that a final decision on Vick's suspension will be made after his legal case is resolved.

The NFL is most likely waiting to see what Vick signs on his plea agreement Monday morning, so they have a better idea of what they need to suspend him for. If he admits to the gambling, he could be looking at a lifetime ban right from that. The question will also be whether or not his suspension will start after he is released from jail, or if it will include the time that he spends in jail.