RICHMOND, Va. – Michael Vick's legal troubles from dogfighting could get even worse.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback faces possible prosecution in state court, where punishment might far exceed the maximum five years in prison that could await him in his federal case.

Local prosecutor Gerald Poindexter has said he probably will pursue charges against Vick, who has plummeted from favorite son to a symbol of animal abuse in the four months since authorities raided his Surry County property. Poindexter said the case could go before a county grand jury Sept. 25.

Among the state laws Vick could be charged with violating are those against dogfighting and animal cruelty. Both are felonies punishable by up to five years in prison.

"The real question is how much overlap there would be between anything the local prosecutor would charge and what the federal prosecutors charged," said Linda Malone, a criminal procedure expert and Marshall-Wythe Foundation professor of law at the College of William and Mary. "There are some limitations on duplication."

It's still unclear whether all this will end the career of one of the NFL's most dazzling players.

The NFL is waiting for a report by its own observers, a group headed by Eric Holder, a former deputy U.S. attorney general, before making a ruling.

Commissioner Roger Goodell "has not decided on a specific timetable on Michael Vick's status," league spokesman Greg Aiello said Tuesday.