Michael Vick
Michael Vick may be the greatest running quarterback of all time, but he also had a pretty good arm, and if he hadn't lost 2 full seasons in his prime due to legal troubles, there's no saying how great he could have been.
Vick was drafted #1 overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2001, and after playing sparingly as a rookie, he burst onto the scene in a big way in 2002. He was the best quarterback in the league that year, his first as a starter, compiling 2936 passing yards, 16 touchdowns with only 8 interceptions, along with 777 yards and 8 touchdowns on the ground. He also led the Falcons to a wild card playoff win before falling to the Eagles in the divisional round.
He broke his fibula during the following preseason, which caused him to miss 11 games, but he started returning to form in 2004, when he became the first quarterback ever to get 250 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in the same game. They made it back to the playoffs, where they again won their first game before falling to Philadelphia.
In 2006, he became the first, and so far only, quarterback to rush for 1000 yards in a season, but off-the-field issues were looming, and Vick was arrested and sent to prison for running a dogfighting ring before the 2007 season began. He spent nearly 2 years in prison, and the Falcons decided to release him rather than reinstate him upon his return.
That huge black mark made it difficult for Vick to find a team in 2009, but Philadelphia decided to offer him a non-guaranteed contract for the season during training camp, and he played out the season as the backup to Donovan McNabb, and was even able to record both a passing and rushing touchdown in a game against his former team, the Falcons.
Vick began the 2010 season as a backup, but numerous injuries to Kevin Kolb forced Vick into the lineup, and he responded with his best career season. He threw for 3018 yards, with 21 touchdowns and only 6 picks, while rushing for 676 yards and a career-high 9 touchdowns.
He remained the starter in Philly for a few more seasons, but age was beginning to catch up to him, and he was eventually replaced by the younger Nick Foles. He played a couple final seasons as a backup for the Jets and Steelers before retiring for good before the 2017 season.
Vick is most well-known for his rushing ability, and he still holds the records for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a season and in a career, but when he was at his best, he was a very good passer as well, making very few mistakes and leading winning teams. He lost a couple of his prime seasons, but when viewed as a whole, his career is worthy of inclusion on this list of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
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