PHILADELPHIA -- The Eagles placed quarterback Michael Vick on the exempt/commissioner's permission list Saturday and cut 17 players to reach the mandatory 53-man roster limit.
The Vick move allowed Philadelphia to keep A.J. Feeley as its No. 3 quarterback. He has been the subject of trade rumors.
Vick will not be reinstated until the third game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs. He can't practice with the team until he is placed on the roster.
"We can do that at any time," Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said. "We could put him on as soon as tomorrow or up until the third week. And he can do anything with the team, attend meetings, everything, except practice."
Among the veterans cut were defensive tackle Dan Klecko, tight end Matt Schobel, fullback Kyle Eckel, linebackers Tank Daniels and Matt Wilhem, cornerback Trae Williams and running back Lorenzo Booker.
Defensive end Bryan Smith, cornerback Jack Ikegwuono and guard Mike Gibson, the team's third-, fourth- and sixth-round draft picks from 2008, also were cut.
Defensive tackle Josh Gaines, safety Rashard Langford, wide receiver Danny Amendola, center Dallas Reynolds, guard Paul Fanaika, tight end Rob Myers and fullback Marcus Mailei were the rookies cut.
Tackle Fenuki Tupou was placed on injured reserve.
Klecko played both defensive tackle and fullback for the Eagles last season. This year, he lost the fullback job to free agent Leonard Weaver and was a victim of numbers on the defensive line.
"Dan is one of our favorite guys," Heckert said. "But we felt with the numbers on our line, the ends like Victor (Abiamiri) and Darren (Howard) playing inside, that was the way to go."
Heckert said Ikegwuono still hasn't made it all the way back from tearing his anterior cruciate ligament after his senior year at Wisconsin.
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"He was a little behind from the injury and never really caught up," Heckert said. "We thought he'd progress faster. The same with Bryan (Smith), we thought he could rush the passer."
Booker also arrived during the 2008 draft via a trade with the Miami Dolphins for another fourth-round draft pick.
"With Brian (Westbrook) and now (LeSean) McCoy," Heckert said, "there was no room at the inn."
The Eagles can start to form their eight-man practice squad beginning Sunday.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
