NFL won’t confirm meeting

Is Michael Vick one step closer to an NFL return?

A league spokesman declined to comment Thursday on reports that the disgraced quarterback met Wednesday afternoon with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss coming back to football after serving a 20-month federal sentence for dogfighting that ended this week.

“We’ve been consistent in saying we’re not going to comment on the details of the review process,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. “We’ll discuss all that after the commissioner makes a decision.”

According to an SI.com report citing multiple unnamed sources -- a story later also reported by the Associated Press -- Vick and Goodell met Wednesday at a small security firm in Allendale, N.J., and the men were seen leaving the premises separately. The report said Goodell was seen leaving the building about 10 minutes after Vick and a “huge” entourage departed.

Aiello took issue with several reports that Goodell has already decided to grant Vick a conditional reinstatement and plans to suspend him for what variously has been reported as four to six games.

“That’s all guesswork and speculation,” Aiello said. “The bottom line is, [Goodell] has not made a decision. When he makes one, he’ll let everyone know.”

Later, in a follow-up e-mail, Aiello added: “This is a serious matter. We are engaging in a careful and thoughtful process, and no decisions have been made.”

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