Michael Vick's debt is paid, but that's only part of his road back

We're going to find out over the next few days and weeks if Michael Vick learned anything during his 18-month stay in a federal prison. Rarely has a life disintegrated so completely as Vick's while a collective nation watched, disgusted at the reason why it was happening and stunned that someone could squander so much.

But here we are, on the other side of midnight in Vick's life. Pretty much everything about him screams "pathetic" at this point. His most employable skill - playing football - has eroded in his two years away from the game and even that pales to the rehab work needed on his reputation and finances.

Because people remember the skills Vick used to have, you'll hear a lot over the next days and weeks about teams interested in signing him. Because of what he did to himself, though, Vick is still a long, long way from the National Football League.

He has convince NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that he really understands what he did and is prepared to live a life deserving of another chance.

If he does that, he then has to find a team willing to take on the public relations nightmares that accompany each step of his comeback and the disruption all that will bring to the locker room.

If he finds that team, he'll have to accept the idea of playing for minimum money. He may find it hard to forget that his entertainment choices cost him $70 million after the Atlanta Falcons canceled his contract, not to mention all of the endorsement millions that went away.

If he convinces Goodell, finds a team and accepts whatever contract he can get, he still has to realize he is basically a walk-on. That team will have no real investment in Vick - emotional or financial - and cut him loose at the first wobble. He has to prove he can still play.

We remember Vick as "Starship 7" - Jon Gruden's apt description of a quarterback who redefined how the position was played in the NFL. The truth is, though, that if you strip away the spectacular plays, you find a career quarterback rating of 75.7.

He rushed for 1,039 yards during his final season in Atlanta, but how much of that darting, twisting, explosive elusiveness was lost during his stay at Leavenworth? We'll know soon enough. ESPN reported Vick has hired trainer Tom Shaw, who has worked with Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Eli Manning and Derrick Brooks.

Common wisdom is that Vick will be a gadget player in his next incarnation, maybe out of the Wildcat formation. No one knows if he can realistically hope to be a starting quarterback again; that depends where he lands and the caliber of teammates around him. Because he is just 29 years old, he might provide a few seasons of help to a team, but the edge that made him spectacular may be gone.

A federal judge ordered Vick to keep quiet during his two months of house arrest prior to his release from all custody on Monday - no interviews. The last thing Vick needs to do right now is say anything that can be misinterpreted, and just about anything he says can and will be. Some people hate him that much.

Vick shouldn't be in a hurry. Goodell's timetable might not correspond to Vick's or teams that might want to sign him. Vick probably will have to show he can handle his new-found freedom by staying out of trouble and out of the limelight.

Behind the scenes, though, his attempt to return has been well orchestrated, right down to his endorsement from the Humane Society of the United States. Who better than Vick can speak to the heinous nature of dogfighting?

Vick will play somewhere.

As tempting as it might be to let him twist for another season or more, the league gave second chances to people who committed disgusting crimes against humans. The court says Vick's debt is paid, and a hefty debt it was.

Being free from prison is just the beginning, though. Vick lived life at the top with arrogance and swagger, but now that he's on the bottom he has to depend on something he never showed his dogs.

Kindness.