Michael Vick is back in the NFL. Now all he needs is a team to play for.

Vick, free after serving 18 months in prison for running a dogfighting ring, was reinstated with conditions by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday. He could participate in regular-season games as early as October.

Vick can immediately take part in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and can play in the final two preseason games — if he can find a team that will sign him. A number of teams have already said they would not.

Once the season begins, Vick may participate in all team activities except games, and Goodell said he would consider Vick for full reinstatement by Week 6 (Oct. 18-19) at the latest.

Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely in August 2007 after the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback admitted bankrolling a dogfighting operation on his property in Virginia. At the time, Goodell said Vick must show remorse before he would consider reinstating him.

"I accept that you are sincere when you say that you want to, and will, turn your life around, and that you intend to be a positive role model for others," Goodell said in his letter to Vick. "I am prepared to offer you that opportunity. Whether you succeed is entirely in your hands."

"Needless to say, your margin for error is extremely limited," the letter said. "I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you and to dedicate yourself to rebuilding your life and your career. If you do this, the NFL will support you."

Goodell said he spoke to numerous current and former players and coaches as he weighed his decision and that the responses were "very mixed."

Vick filed for bankruptcy protection last July, listing assets of about $16 million and debts of more than $20 million, and has a hearing about his plan to repay his creditors on Friday in Newport News, Va. That plan is built around his ability to make NFL-type money again.

He's unlikely to command anything close to the 10-year, $130 million contract he once had with the Falcons, or to get endorsement deals after the grisly details of the dogfighting ring were publicized.

BRONCOS

MARSHALL IN CAMP, BUT HE ISN'T HAPPY

Brandon Marshall is one unhappy camper.

The recalcitrant Pro Bowl receiver reported to the first day of Denver's training camp yesterday at Englewood, Colo., after skipping all offseason workouts while rehabbing from a hip operation and protesting his contract and what he feels was a misdiagnosis of his injury by the team's medical staff.

After catching several passes in the light afternoon workout, Marshall made it clear by his body language and evasiveness during a terse five-minute news conference that he remains dissatisfied in Denver.

Asked if he was happy to be here, Marshall retorted: "I'm happy to play football. That's what I've been doing since I was a little boy and hopefully that's what I can continue to do. I'm going to take advantage of any opportunity I have to play football."

The Broncos' first full squad workout isn't until Friday but Marshall was told to report yesterday with the quarterbacks, other veterans coming off injuries and the rookies.

Marshall's agent Kennard McGuire and general manger Brian Xanders were seen walking into the team's headquarters together yesterday, but McGuire declined to reveal what was discussed, and Xanders didn't return a message.

"He said he was coming and he showed up," said McGuire, who wants to renegotiate the $2.2 million left on his contract this year.

LAW AND ORDER

MANHATTAN DA WANTS BURRESS IN JAIL

Manhattan's district attorney says he wants former Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress to serve time in prison, the New York Post reported.

Robert Morgenthau told the newspaper that Burress, who shot himself with an unlicensed gun in November, was willing to agree to spend a year in jail, but prosecutors insisted on two.

"We've always taken the position that he's going to have to go to jail, whether by trial or by plea," Morgenthau told the Post for a story in yesterday's edition.

Burress shot himself in the thigh at a nightclub Nov. 29. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and faces up to 3 1/2 years in prison. Burress has pleaded not guilty and is free on $100,000 bail. The Giants released Burress in April.

His attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said he was "disappointed and surprised" that Morgenthau spoke publicly while a grand jury decision on indicting Burress is pending.

ELSEWHERE

Patriots: New England signed safety Patrick Chung, its top draft pick out of Oregon, leaving two of its 12 choices without agreements. Terms were not disclosed.

The Patriots' only draft picks without agreements are third-rounder Tyrone McKenzie, a linebacker from South Florida, and sixth-rounder Jake Ingram, a long snapper from Hawai'i.

Panthers: Carolina has reached terms with second-round pick Everette Brown and third-round choice Corvey Irvin.

Brown, an ex-Florida State defensive end, agreed to a four-year, $4.3 million deal that includes nearly $2.7 million in guaranteed money.

Irvin, a defensive tackle out of Georgia, signed a four-year, $2.42 million deal that includes a $670,000 signing bonus.

49ers: San Francisco has signed running back Glen Coffee, its third-round draft pick, to a four-year contract.

Coffee, out of Alabama, is expected to be Frank Gore's backup this season.