According to Kelly Naqi (ESPN.com), Michael Vick is scheduled to be released from Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary on May 20th and will serve the rest of his sentance in his home. The information on his release was passed along by Vick’s lawyer and another source close to the situation.

Vick was originally scheduled to be released from prison on July 20th. He will finish his sentance in his home in Newport News, VA with his fiancée and his two children, while he is working for a local construction company at $10 an hour.

NFL News & Rumors is looking for writers that want to develop their craft and blog about all the latest news hitting the wire. Over the past three months, we’ve experienced tremendous growth, averaging just under 3,000 unique visitors per day, so we’re in need of a few fresh voices to hit the ground running.

Here’s what we’d like to see in our new writers:

1. An ardent observer, who’s willing to put in the effort it takes to craft solid pieces that convey the news in a fan friendly format. No hype and no bull. Just straight news backed up by first hand sources.

2. A die hard fan of the game that loves football and wants to speak their mind on the topic.

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If Michael Vick can’t find a home in the NFL, arena football may be an option.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Albany Firebirds have offered Michael Vick a conditional contract that’s full of incentives, to play for their squad if things don’t work out in his favor with the NFL. The Firebirds play in the arenafootball2 league.

Apparently, the idea of working with Vick was a contentious one, stirring a heated debate within the Firebirds’ front office, but eventually they came to the conclusion that they could make him an offer that would appease their fans and help them on the field. The contract calls for Vick to donate $100,000 to a local Humane Society, and is highly dependent on his play on the field.

Given his current status in bankruptcy court, it’s doubtful Vick will be accepting the offer anytime soon, but the gesture is undoubtedly appreciated by his supporters. Vick is currently awaiting his release from prison, which should come sometime this summer, afterwhich he expects to be reinstated by the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons currently hold Vick’s rights and have been looking to trade him for some time.

Somewhere in Minnesota, Brad Childress is smiling.

According to Michael Lombardi (NFL Network), the Jets have officially decided to let Brett Favre ride off into the Mississippi sunset with no strings attached, hereby making him a free agent and beginning another never ending news cycle on how long it will take for him to un-retire once more.

Favre officially retired at the end of the season, but given all that we’ve been through with the enigmatic QB, can he really expect us to believe that’s he’s done for good? I mean this is the same guy who tearfully announced his impending retirement multiple times in Green Bay, only to make one triumphant return after another each off-season, doing his best to lift the collective spirits of the Packer faithful from dregs of winter in norther Wisconsin.

This is a man who cannot let it go. He simply cannot allow himself to leave things undone and until he finally finishes a season on a high note (whatever that may be), he’ll continue to put us through the drama of watching him come back year after year. In Green Bay, his last play was a critical interception, which led him to come back for one more shot in New York, but that ended badly too. His Hall of Fame credentials are just waiting to be stamped, but something inside of him will not let it go… he has to keep trying to find that perfect ending to his storybook career.

That’s where Minnesota comes into the picture. They need a quarterback… wait scratch that. They need a REAL quarterback. Yeah they’ve got a few scrubs laying about right now that can say they play the position, but they’re about as legit as Vanilla Ice’s rock career. Those guys are nothing compared to Favre and unfortunately for the Vikings, a REAL quarterback is the only thing separating them from a Super Bowl at this point.

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According to the Associated Press, the Saints have decided to part ways with veteran defensive tackle Brian Young, after a series of knee injuries caused him to miss parts of the past two seasons.

Young is a nine year veteran of the league, playing his first four seasons with the Rams before coming to New Orleans five years ago. He played in eight contests last season, notching 13 tackles, including one sack.

Here’s what Saints general manager Mickey Loomis had to say on the release:

“He has been a key contributor to our defense for a number of years and has also brought a lot to our organization as a high-character individual,” Loomis said. “He has not received as much recognition and credit as he deserves for what he has brought to our team and this community. He will always be welcome in our building.”

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Pittsburgh made a tough decision earlier today, when they released seven year veteran LB Larry Foote, who has been with the franchise through both Super Bowl victories this decade. Foote was scheduled to make $3.5 million this season, and given the Steelers unusual difficulties with the cap this off-season, it makes sense that they would let him go.

Foote is a solid inside linebacker that is best suited for a role in a 3-4 style of defense, so it’s doubtful that he’ll be out of work for long. Teams that will likely be interested are Kansas City, Denver, Cleveland, and New England.

Over the past decade the NFL Draft has become one of the premier events of the spring, rivaling actual sporting events like MLB’s regular season games and the NBA/NHL playoffs. And according to a report in the Dallas Morning News, the league is ready to take advantage of that.

The NFL is currently looking at making the draft a three day event, with round one starting on Thursday night in primetime, and the rest playing out Friday night and Saturday afternoon. No decision has been made as of yet, but it’s an idea that certainly has merit given the popularity of the event overall, and it would allow the media coverage to avoid the all day boredom that the current model causes.

At any rate, it will be interesting to see how this ends up, as the league is finally realizing that the two day approach has significant flaws in the TV aspect. As always, we’ll keep you updated.

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John Clayton (ESPN.com) is reporting that Detroit has decided to release QB Drew Henson after they selected Matt Stafford #1 overall in the draft. Henson had been vying for a backup role with the team, but showed little signs of improvement during the Lion’s off-season workouts.

Henson was a highly touted prospect upon his arrival at the University of Michigan, however he decided against a career in the NFL and opted to sign with the New York Yankees to play baseball instead. His career in the MLB was short lived, as he played in just eight games before retiring from baseball and making a return to football with the Cowboys. Henson bounced around before landing in Detroit, where he struggled in limited playing time.

The Lions will likely keep three QBs on their roster – Daunte Culpepper, Stafford, and Drew Stanton.

The NFL Draft is full of moments where a slight of hand and quick thinking allow a team to “steal” a player before a rival is able to select them, and this year was no exception.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Vikings apparently feel that they “stole” WR Percy Harvin from the Patriots, who were set to select him one pick later than Minnesota. Typically, teams try to not reveal who they prefer to take in the draft, but Vikings head coach Brad Childress was successful in extracting that bit of information from Harvin, who had been told by New England that he was their guy.

“New England was right in there. They were right behind us [with the 23rd pick],” Childress said. “No, they didn’t think we’d take him [because of off-the-field] issues. Remember, they have our receivers coach there now. So they thought they could hold … and he’d come to them.

“They were down there working him out the day after I was there. And [Harvin] wasn’t supposed to tell anybody, and I was trying to pull that out of him, who that was. So, it was a little cat-and-mouse game that occurred.”

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A day after his college coach ripped into the Browns organization for their lack of respect shown to WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell will be in Cleveland for a tryout with the team this weekend, according to the Associated Press.

Tech’s head coach, Mike Leach, was extremely upset with his counterpart on the Browns, Eric Mangini, after rumors on Crabtree’s attitude during a visit to Cleveland surfaced right before the draft began.

Apparently, that anger did not translate over to Harrell, who is currently trying to simply get a job in the league, after a stellar career in Leach’s spread offense at Texas Tech. The Browns currently have three quarterbacks on their roster in Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson, and Brett Ratliff.

According to Kevin Acee (San Diego Union-Tribune), Chargers LB Shaun Phillips was cited on Saturday morning for misdeameanor battery. Apparently, he hit a security guard at a downtown bar in the face, and although he was not arrested, he could face a bit of trouble from the league as this is his second spat with the law in three seasons. Suspension would be out of the questions, but a sit down with the commish could be in order.

It’s not known what kind of legal penalty Phillips will face at this point, but most likely he will have to pay a significant fine and attend a class or two, depending on his plea. Phillips was the Chargers leading sack artist last season, racking up 7.5 after teammate Shawne Merriman missed the entire season with a knee injury.

After the experiencing the joy of the NFL Draft over the weekend, the league lost one of it’s own today, as Frank Gansz passed away at the age of 70. Gansz had been suffering from complications as a result of a knee surgery he underwent last week.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Gansz’s heart stopped shortly after the routine surgery and he unfortunately never recovered. He had been a member of June Jones’ coaching staff at Southern Methodist University for the past year, after he came out of retirement. Gansz was a long time coach in the NFL, focusing primarily on special teams. He was also the head coach of the Chiefs.

Rest in peace Mr. Gansz…