RICHMOND, Va. -- Could Monday be the day Michael Vick finally appears at the federal courthouse in Richmond?

WSB-TV Channel 2's Scott MacFarlane has learned Judge Henry Hudson, who presides over Vick's case, has cleared his schedule for Monday, August 20. Other hearings in separate cases had previously been scheduled for that day.

Those hearings no longer appear on Judge Hudson's docket.

Calls to the judge's chambers were unanswered.

Prosecutor Gives Vick Deadline For Plea Deal

The prosecutor in the Michael Vick case has warned Vick that if he refuses to accept a plea deal by Friday afternoon he will seek stiffer charges, including racketeering, against the Falcons quarterback.

WSB-TV Channel 2 has confirmed a federal grand jury will meet in Richmond again Monday to consider those new charges against Vick.

The federal court in Richmond has been especially harsh on defendants found guilty in racketeering cases.

Vick would be the only defendant remaining in the dogfighting case.

Plea agreement hearings are scheduled for Vick’s two remaining co-defendants -- one at 9 a.m. Friday and the other at 9:15 a.m. Friday. Both will appear in Judge Henry Hudson’s court.

Channel 2’s Scott MacFarlane reports Quanis Phillips, the co-defendant from Atlanta, is en route to Washington. The court is requiring him to wear an electronic monitoring device. He'll spend the evening at the Richmond Marriot Hotel at 500 E. Broad Street in Richmond. MacFarlane said the news indicates that tomorrow's scheduled hearings will be a "go", as planned.

The hearing for Purnell Peace was set for Thursday morning, but was rescheduled for Friday morning.

Another of Vick's original co-defendants, Tony Taylor, pleaded guilty July 30 to taking part in a dogfighting conspiracy he said was financed by the Atlanta Falcons quarterback.

As part of a plea agreement, Taylor pledged to fully cooperate with the government in its prosecution of Vick, Peace and Phillips.

They are accused of running an interstate dogfighting enterprise known as "Bad Newz Kennels" on Vick's property in rural Surry County, Virginia.

Federal sentencing guidelines indicate a guilty plea on the charges – Conspiracy to Commit an Unlawful Act and Sponsoring an Animal in an Illegal Animal Fighting Venture – would land Vick behind bars for 12 to 18 months.

Vick spent hours on the phone Wednesday with lawyers in Virginia, Atlanta and Washington. The conference call came two days after two remaining co-defendants scheduled plea hearings, presumably agreeing to testify against Vick if his federal dogfighting conspiracy case goes to trial.

WSB-TV Channel 2's Scott MacFarlane reports Vick's attorneys have been trying to hammer out an arrangement that will allow him to continue to play in the National Football League.

NFL officials have been mum on whether they would allow Vick to play if he is convicted on felony charges.

“That’s the dilemma Michael Vick faces right now. He doesn’t know what the NFL or the Atlanta Falcons will say and he’d like to have that information before he pleads. That’s what has him whip-sawed. He’s in a situation where he has to cut a deal with the government without knowing the consequences that are really important to him,” said University of Richmond Legal Analyst Carl Tobias.

Observers familiar with the case now think it's likely Vick will enter his plea along with two co-defendants on Friday.

If Vick’s name is added to the docket tomorrow if he does decide to enter a plea deal Friday, it will likely be scheduled and posted on the court calendar by the end of Thursday.