FanPost

Trading Kyle Orton

Let me begin by saying I really like everything Kyle Orton has brought to the Broncos. I believe he is a stand-up guy, physically gifted in terms of his frame and his throwing ability, he has thoroughly absorbed a very complex offensive scheme and executed it with precision, and he has been a boon to the Broncos' image off the field.

Having said that, I am convinced that he should be traded to the highest bidder during the off-season.


Allow me to explain in as direct a manner as possible.

First, the Denver Broncos clearly require a new identity. After the departure (long live #7!) of John Elway, the Broncos retained much of their identity via Mike Shanahan. This ultimately proved to be illusory, as the Broncos only won one playoff game during the remainder of Shanahan's tenure here in Denver. Since that time, our beloved franchise has been in a state of flux, the low point being the "identity" of the pouty, bitchy Jay Cutler/Brandon Marshall Broncos. Despite our horrendous record, I am still so incredibly relieved that we don't have to put up with that type of behavior from our franchise faces any longer. Kyle Orton, as I expressed above, was a huge upgrade over what we previously had at QB (you may of course not agree with this, but it is my firm opinion), but also has been a true professional during his time here. But now it is time for a new identity, and currently Tim Tebow is providing that identity. I;m not completely sold on the fact that Tebow will be "it" for years to come, but he certainkly presents a more compelling value equation than Kyle Orton at this point in their careers. So point #1 is that it is definitely time for Kyle Orton to take a backseat to the guy we hope will provide the spark this franchise needs to regain national prominence and post some wins.

Second is a more pragmatic issue. Forget hopes and dreams, this one is all business. Kyle Orton signed a one-year extension at the beginning of the season. This means Kyle's right to participation in the NFL is owned by the Denver Broncos - FOR ONE YEAR ONLY. After that year, even though we may want him to be our feel-good backup for the rest of his career (think Gary Kubiak), he will go to the open market and sell his not inconsiderable skillset for a much more substantial compensation package than we are willing to pay for a bench guy. So the value equation is this - do we keep Kyle as a backup for the one year he is contracted to play for Denver? I believe every good team must have a good backup and fully endorse keeping Kyle on this premise. OR ... do we trade him for value? Remember, we will only have him for ONE year if we don't trade him. So point #2 is that we are better off to get what we can now for Orton than to maintain the value of having perhaps the best #2 QB in the league today. I mean, hey, the Broncos are a poor enough team right now that we need to be focusing on front-line players more than depth, right?

So that leads me to ... what can we get for Kyle Orton? In looking at teams who are needing a quarterback, a few jump out immediately. But first, what does KO bring to the table? To my mind, he brings accuracy - perhaps the most important "numerical" trait in determining successful QB's. He also has a good arm - definitely NFL caliber, and proven beyond the ability to reasonably argue against that point. What he doesn't seem to bring to the table is a sheer force of personal will to achieve the desired results, nor the unique charismatic makeup to raise the level of his surrounding cast. Therefore, I believe Kyle Orton is a good match for a team that A) runs any type of offense, as he can do it all, B) already has established team leaders and simply need a quality QB to be a final piece of the puzzle. The best matches, therefore, in my opinion, are: Minnesota, San Francisco, Washington, and - most of all - Tennessee.

It is very easy to get excited about including player trades when "mocking the draft". It is a whole lot easier to feel quite the GM genius when adding 2 or 3 top draft picks to your very own mock. I do this in my head on a near-constant basis. But I would MUCH rather see Kyle Orton traded for a quality player. I mean, hey, a franchise has the opportunity to pick up a very good QB that, if he is determined to be a good fit, may "feel" like he answers a lot of problems for a potential contender. So who might we be able to extract in return for Kyle Orton from the 4 aforementioned teams? I don't want to over-analyze, so I'll just mention a few who I think would be good trade values and fill positions of need...

Minnesota: Visanthe Shiancoe, TE or EJ Henderson, MLB

Or "dream trade": Kyle Orton and our 1st round pick for Jared Allen and Minnesota's 1st round pick. Imagine Doom and Allen lining up on the same D?

San Francisco: Reggie Smith, SS or Aubrayo Franklin, NT

Washington: Derrick Dockery, G or Philip Buchanon, CB

Tennessee: Michael Griffin, or Jason Babin, DE.

In any case, I think we should move Kyle Orton while we can, because the alternative is one year of a backup we hope we will never use and then ... nothing.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.