Kyle Orton

Orton is expected to back up Tony Romo in 2013.

Former Bears and Broncos starting QB heads to Dallas on a three-year contract to provide an insurance policy against another Tony Romo injury. Should Romo go down again, Orton should be able to put up very respectable numbers that are at least comparable to his peak years (2009-2010) in Denver.

The new management is making a big effort to play up Orton’s chances of starting in 2011, but it’s tough to see it leaving the younger and more exciting Tim Tebow on the bench. But to bench Orton after how well he’s played the last two years would be a waste, and it’s difficult to imagine there wouldn’t be demand for a 28-year-old signal-caller with 61 career starts and a quarterback rating in the high-80s the last two years. While Orton’s not athletic and isn’t known for having a huge arm, he has nonetheless demonstrated the ability to be a productive pocket passer and competent field general.

Orton is the incumbent in a messy quarterback situation in Denver. He was solid, but not spectacular last season, finishing with 21 touchdowns to 12 interceptions while playing through some nagging injuries. However, the decision in the offseason to acquire former first rounder Brady Quinn and draft Tim Tebow in the first round speaks volumes about Orton’s long term future. He will get the initial opportunities, but Tebow will likely see spot duty in unconventional packages, and Quinn will also be breathing down his back.

The Broncos QB is the sucker sleeper play this year. How good are the receivers without an all-time NFL arm (Jay Cutler)? If Brandon Marshall is Randy Moss for new head coach (and former Patriots offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels, and maybe Eddie Royal is Wes Welker with speed. Who is Tom Brady? Or Jay Cutler, for that matter? There’s a huge step down in ability from Cutler to Orton. Fellow signal-caller Chris Simms has more measurables, but has never done anything of note even in college, where he was often benched. Orton was terrible on intermediate, FAS throws last year (11-to-20 yards from scrimmage) – 56 QB rating and just 12 percent of completions vs. 18 percent of attempts. We need to see a narrower gap than that. Both QBs will be surrounded by new players in a new system, and thus we should expect the Broncos passing game to struggle despite their premium wideouts throughout most of 2009. Orton’s the favorite to start at press time, but it wouldn’t surprise us to see him get a quick hook as the wolves in Denver will be howling over Cutler’s loss early and often in 2009.

Orton enters training camp on equal footing with Rex Grossman and the two will compete for the starting quarterback job. Orton started the final three games of 2007 and did a decent job, throwing for 478 yards and three touchdowns compared to two interceptions while leading the Bears to a 2-1 record. Still, he's more suited to be a backup and will likely fill that role behind Grossman.

For the second consecutive season, Orton will serve as the Bears' third-string quarterback. After starting 15 games for Chicago in 2005, Orton saw no action last year playing behind two useful QBs in Rex Grossman and Brian Griese. The former Boilermaker does not stand to see any important snaps this season unless injuries sideline the two men in front of him.

Orton stepped in admirably as a rookie last season and started 15 games at quarterback in place of the injured Rex Grossman. While his stats were far from fantasy-worthy, he (with some help from a ferocious defense) led the Bears to an 11-5 record and an NFC North title. With Grossman healthy (at least during training camp) and the team's addition of Brian Griese, Orton will begin the year as the No. 3 QB and will have very little fantasy value this season.

Orton, the Bears' 2005 fourth-round pick, comes off a great college career at Purdue, where he threw for 9,337 yards and 63 touchdowns as a three-year starter. At 6-4, he has the size to see over defenses and has an incredibly strong arm to boot. Entering the season as Chicago's No. 3 quarterback, Orton's days of putting up big numbers at the NFL level are at least a couple years away, however.