Michael Vick said he is excited for the chance to return as the Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback for Sunday's season finale against the New York Giants, but he doesn't see his opportunity as a job audition for next season.
Vick hasn't played since suffering a concussion during a loss to the Cowboys on Nov. 11. He has been cleared to return, but rookie Nick Foles has led the Eagles since Vick was injured.
Eagles coach Andy Reid said Monday that Foles broke his throwing hand in the second quarter of a 27-20 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday and that "there's a pretty good chance Michael will be the starter" against the Giants.
"I'm excited about it," Vick told USA Today. "I love the game of football. I love playing football. Regardless of our record, I'm excited to be out there. "I'm just grateful to have the opportunity to play again. I plan on taking advantage of it."
The Eagles (4-11) went 1-5 with the 23-year-old Foles as the starter and 3-6 in Vick's nine starts. Vick, in his fourth season with Philadelphia, completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 2,165 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions before his injury.
Vick said he doesn't think his NFL future depends on how the Eagles do Sunday.
"I'm not going out to audition for a job. I'm going out to try and win," Vick told USA Today. "My play and what I've done for this league and the accolades that I have speak for themselves. The thing I want to do is improve. Whatever happens next year happens. I'm just going to be a guy who, wherever I'm at, I'm going to make the team better."
Vick signed a $100 million contract in 2011 that runs through 2017, but the Eagles won't owe Vick any money if they release him by Feb. 6.
Foles should be 100 percent in about three weeks after an MRI taken on Monday revealed a hairline non-displaced fracture, Reid said.
"He was in quite a little bit of pain," Reid said of Foles, who threw for 345 yards. "I know at one point he was having a tough time squeezing the ball when we went into halftime. He's a tough kid and never said a word about it. He pushed himself through and did a good job."
Foles, a third-round pick out of Arizona, completed 60.8 percent of his passes for an Eagles rookie record 1,699 yards, with six touchdowns and five interceptions in seven games following Vick's injury.
"It's frustrating because I'm hard on myself and I want to win, but I'm going to keep working hard, and I know my teammates are, too," Foles said after Sunday's loss. "We're going to keep sticking together. It's been a tough year."
With Reid's status as head coach uncertain, it's impossible to determine whether Foles will get an opportunity with the Eagles next year. But Reid said he was impressed with what he saw over the past two months from Foles.
"I think he's a winning quarterback or he's a quarterback that gives your team an opportunity to win," Reid said. "I think you're seeing him in a unique situation where he comes in later in the season. You look at the young quarterbacks who've had an opportunity to come up through and they've had time here to grow.
"It wasn't really pretty when they first began and it continued to pick up as they got games under their belts. Nick got thrown in when other teams were working to their peaks. He was thrown in in that situation.
"He has enough skill and ability to play."
Vick was not in uniform Sunday. Veteran Trent Edwards served as Foles' backup, and he'll be Vick's backup against the Giants. Edwards has not thrown a pass this season.
"You're talking about a pretty good quarterback here that has a lot of experience," Reid said of Vick. "I think he'll be excited to be out there and I think he'll do a good job."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.