In June, the Atlanta Falcons released their former franchise quarterback, Michael Vick.

On Monday, the federal government released Vick from its custody.

But while Vick is a free man now, don’t expect him to end up with the New England Patriots anytime soon.

Or, for that matter, with another of the NFL’s 31 teams.

It’s not whether Vick deserves to be reinstated by league commission Roger Goodell – Goodell suspended the Virginia native indefinitely in August 2007 after Vick admitted his involvement in a dogfighting scheme – it’s whether any team owner will take a chance on signing the former Pro Bowler.

Let’s face it: there are currently less than a handful of teams in the NFL who have strong enough ownership, deep enough fanbases and enough recent success to withstand the potential firestorm from the dog-loving public, the rabid People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and other anti-cruelty groups that would come from adding Vick to the roster. The Patriots, Steelers and Colts come to mind, and none of those are in need of a starting quarterback, which Vick will inevitably believe he still is.

Robert Kraft views the Patriots as a brand, and as such carefully guards the image of said brand.

Ever since New England acquired alleged malcontent Randy Moss in a draft-day trade with Oakland in 2007, media outsiders seem to believe that the Pats have become the home for the NFL’s lost souls.  

But in the eyes of the public, Moss’ sophomoric on-field antics and 2002 Minnesota traffic incident don’t compare to admitting to bankrolling a dogfighting ring, illegal gambling, and killing losing pit bulls.

And the public has come to love all things New England Patriots. The Boston Globe recently reported that thanks to Bill Belichick, 50 percent of all of the grey NFL hoodies Reebok sells bear the Pats’ name and logo. Ask CBS, NBC and FOX what kind of draw New England is: several of the highest-rated games in recorded television history have included the Pats. The most popular American football team in England? Yep, the Patriots.

Vick’s infamy aside, there’s no telling what kind of quarterback he is now, over 2 ½ years since he last played in a game.

While he was selected to three Pro Bowls, Vick made the all-star games more on the strength of his ability to turn ordinary plays into highlight-worthy ones with his feet than his ability to make great decisions in the pocket.

His best season was in 2004, when he led Atlanta to an 11-5 record and a playoff upset of the Green Bay Packers to earn a berth in the NFC title game. That year, Vick’s completion percentage was a career-best (but utterly pedestrian) 56.4, with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, good for a 78.1 rating. For his 74 games, Vick has a 53.8 percent completion mark, 71 passing touchdowns, 52 interceptions, 21 rushing touchdowns and a 75.7 rating.

Numerous teams have already said they’ll be taking a pass on Vick when and if he’s reinstated by Goodell, including Tampa Bay, San Francisco, and even Dallas, where owner/general manager Jerry Jones has apparently learned from his Pacman Jones mistake.

From this vantage point, the likeliest landing spot is with the true home for the NFL’s lost souls  – the Raiders have bust-in-waiting JaMarcus Russell and aging-by-the-day Jeff Garcia at the top of their depth chart, and Al Davis has an insatiable penchant for signing questionable players.

In the end, however, Vick can hear 31 no's – all it takes is one yes.