With his NFL career in jeopardy and a superseding indictment adding more charges in the works, that left Vick with a hard choice: Cutting his own deal to hold jail time under a year or go to trial and sit through detailed descriptions of the ghastly operation known as "Bad Newz Kennels."
Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Vick's attorneys were negotiating with prosecutors as of late afternoon, trying to hammer out a plea deal.
"It seems to be a pretty clear indication there will be some sort of plea entered," Blank said before the Falcons preseason game at Buffalo. "When? I'm not positive."
Quanis Phillips of Atlanta and Purnell Peace of Virginia Beach entered plea agreements and agreed to testify against Vick. A third member of the dogfighting ring, Tony Taylor, struck a similar deal last month.
One of Vick's attorneys, Lawrence Woodward, attended the plea hearings but declined to answer questions about the progress of the negotiations as he left the courthouse.
"Did you conspire with these folks to sponsor a dogfighting venture?" U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson asked Peace.
"Yes, sir," he replied.
As part of his plea agreement, Phillips signed a statement that said Vick joined in executing at least eight dogs that didn't do well in test fights by various methods, including hanging and drowning.
"Phillips agrees and stipulates that these dogs all died as a result of the collective efforts of Peace, Phillips, and Vick," the statement said.
Phillips and Peace also backed up Taylor's assertion that Vick was involved in gambling.
"The `Bad Newz Kennels' operation and gambling monies were almost exclusively funded by Vick," according to statements by the two men.
Those allegations alone could trigger a lifetime ban under the NFL's personal conduct policy.
Blank accused Vick of lying to the owner and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell when they first questioned the quarterback about the allegations.
"It's just very sad," Blank said. "It's sad that those allegations exist and now they are confirmed by others. It's sad that Michael has put himself into that kind of situation. It's his responsibility for putting himself into that situation."
Goodell has barred Vick from the Falcons' training camp but has withheld further action while the league conducts its own investigation. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league had no comment on the latest pleas.
Blank said he was stunned by the charges made against Vick by his co-defendants.
"It's distressing after six years spending time with somebody, you think you know them and then there's another side that is shocking to all of us," the owner said. "Those statements of facts don't match up with what the league was told, even our organization, and certainly not was said to the commissioner. So we'll have to see what comes out in this plea and deal with the facts as soon as we have them."
