RICHMOND, Va. — Suspended NFL star Michael Vick left a Kansas prison before dawn Wednesday to begin home confinement in Virginia, one of his attorneys said, the latest step on a journey that Vick hopes will lead to his reinstatement.

Vick, who turns 29 in June, slipped past waiting cameras and reporters to leave a federal penitentiary in Leavenworth after serving 19 months for financing a dogfighting ring. He was headed to Virginia by car to begin two months of home confinement at his five-bedroom house in Hampton before a scheduled released from federal custody on July 20.

"It's a happy day for him to be starting this part of the process," Larry Woodward, Vick's Virginia-based attorney, said. "He looks forward to meeting the challenges he has to meet."

Ultimately, Vick's goal is to rehabilitate his image and return to the NFL, but Woodward said his first priority "is spending time with his children and his loved ones."

Vick, once the NFL's highest-paid player, will be allowed to leave the house to work a $10-an-hour job as a laborer for a construction company and for other limited purposes approved by his probation officer. He will be handed a new set of rules when he begins serving three years of probation after he is released from federal custody.

The transfer from the federal penitentiary will allow Vick to begin rebuilding his life, repairing his image and working toward his goal of reinstatement to the NFL.

Goodell has said he will review Vick's status after his criminal case is concluded. He has said Vick will have to persuade him and the public that he is genuinely sorry for his crime, that he has been changed by his experience and that he is committed to leading a different life.

Vick has said he wants to work with the Humane Society of the United States on a program aimed at eradicating dogfighting among urban teens, society president Wayne Pacelle said Tuesday. Pacelle said he recently met with Vick at the federal prison in Leavenworth. Vick requested the meeting, one his attorneys, said.

Even if he is reinstated, Vick's future in the league is uncertain. He and the Falcons have parted ways, agreeing to a contract settlement that will allow Vick to sign with another team — if there is one willing to endure the wrath of some fans in exchange for the services of a player who was perhaps the NFL's most electrifying performer.

One certainty is that he will not command the kind of money he once earned. Vick supplemented his 10-year, $130 million Falcons contract with several lucrative endorsements, all lost because of the dogfighting. The minimum salary for a player with Vick's years of experience is $620,000.

Vick's startling fall began in April 2007 when authorities conducting a drug investigation of his cousin raided the former Virginia Tech star's Surry County property and seized dozens of dogs, some injured, and equipment commonly used in dogfighting.

A federal indictment issued about three months later charged Vick and three of his "Bad Newz Kennels" associates with an interstate dogfighting conspiracy. Vick initially denied any involvement, and all four men pleaded innocent. All four eventually admitted their crimes and were sentenced to prison. Vick's sentence was the longest.

Associated Press writers Larry O'Dell in Richmond, Virginia, John Marshall in Leavenworth, Kansas, and AP Sports Writer Fred Goodall in Tampa, Florida, contributed to this report.