The Michael Vick saga continues.

The latest reports suggest Vick may be encouraged to take a paid leave of absence. Whether Vick would take a leave while his indictment for dogfighting works its way toward resolution is another matter.

If the leave can be worked out, Vick should take it. Imagine the scenario if he doesn’t — he’s going to be bothered all season with questions about the indictment. He’ll be booed mercilessly at road games. There will be protests outside stadiums. The pressure is going to be too much.

Forget the concept of Vick being innocent until proven guilty — even if he is cleared, he still demonstrated some degree of poor judgment by letting this happen on his property, or simply not paying attention when as a star athlete he should have been more careful. Not condoning what Vick possibly did, he needs to accept that until this mess is resolved, via some sort of acquittal, plea deal or jail time, he should step back. It will help on the long path of restoring his image (if it can be fully restored), and it keep him focused on what should be the most pressing matter in his life — the indictment.

Vick likely will not become the Hall of Fame quarterback people thought he might become when he entered the league. But he is still young (27) and still can make an impact in the coming years. Maybe that impact will come with a different team — look at Jim Plunkett, Doug Williams, Trent Dilfer, all QBs who won a Super Bowl with their second team. But that impact won’t ever come if this season completely destroys Vick. He won’t ever completely salvage his reputation, but he can improve it in the future, to the point where the first thing people think of when they hear his name isn’t dogfighting, if he realizes one skipped season now might save his career later.