Vick fails concussion test, no closer to return

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick has failed another concussion recovery test and is no closer in returning to the football field than he was a week ago, the Eagles announced Thursday morning.

Vick for at least the third time has failed the ImPACT test that measures brain function and compares it quantitatively to brain function before a head injury.

Trainer Rick Burkholder said on Saturday that Vick was close to passing the test, but he has apparently made no or little progress in the past five days.

The last word from the Eagles was that Vick had advanced from stage three to stage four of the Eagles’ own concussion recovery protocol and last weekend was doing some throwing with teammates before or after practice, but those stages are independent of the NFL’s guidelines.

For Vick to return to action, he must pass the ImPACT test, then be cleared by both an independent, NFL-approved neurologist or neurosurgeon and by the Eagles’ own concussion specialist, Dr. Gary Dorshimer.

Vick is out for the Eagles’ game against the Cowboys Sunday night in Arlington, Texas. It will be the third game he’s missed since getting hurt in the Eagles’ first Dallas game on Nov. 11. It appears unlikely he’d be able to fully recover in time for the Eagles’ next game, in Tampa on Dec. 9. After that, the Eagles have three games remaining.

Rookie Nick Foles will make his third NFL start Sunday night, his second in a row in primetime on national TV. Foles has thrown two interceptions and no touchdowns in his two starts so far, passing for just 323 yards in losses to the Washington Football Team and Panthers.

The Eagles have lost seven straight games to fall to 3-8 after a 3-1 start. A loss Sunday would give them their longest in-season losing streak in 44 years, since they lost the first 11 games in 1968.

Vick missed three games each in 2010 and 2011 with rib injuries, so the Dallas game will be the ninth he has missed because of injury since he replaced Kevin Kolb as the Eagles’ starting quarterback early in 2010. Vick last played 16 games in a season in 2006.

The Eagles were 8-2 in Vick’s first 10 starts as an Eagle. They’re 10-14 since.