Whether or not suspended Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is staying busy in federal penitentiary by playing football with fellow inmates can't be confirmed, a federal jail official said Monday.

Who does play football on a federal-prison squad is not public information, said Tracy Billingsley, a spokesperson for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

Vick apparently is staying occupied by washing pots and pans and playing football with fellow inmates, according to a New York Daily News interview with Falcons owner Arthur Blank.

Blank said that the former superstar described prison life in letters the two have exchanged. Vick is serving a 23-month sentence after pleading guilty to felony charges related to dogfighting.

Billingsley said Monday that if Vick has suited up, he has little to fear from any over-zealous lineman. "Our institutes only play flag football," she said.

Blank told the Daily News that Vick "is staying in shape.

"Apparently ... he played quarterback for both sides," Blank reported.

Vick is serving his term at a minimum security prison in Leavenworth, Kan. His wage for cleaning pots and pans is 12 cents an hour, according to a letter. In his last season with the Falcons in 2006, Vick earned $1.4 million, part of a 10-year, $130 million contract that he signed in 2004.

According to the report, Blank also said that Kevin Winston, the Falcons' senior director of player development, has visited Vick several times in prison. Blank said that he does not have plans to visit him.

In an interview with the AJC last week, Blank said that he hopes Vick will return to the NFL. He did not rule out Vick playing again for the Falcons, although he said "we have to assume he's not coming back" to the team.

Said Blank: "Despite the mixture of frustration, anger and disappointment in him, I believe in second chances and redemption. I would love to see Michael pay his debt to society and come out and play again in the NFL. I think he could also be a big help to . . . speak to people about some of his choices."

Vick's projected release date is July 20, 2009.