Did Broncos Put Kyle Orton on Trading Block Too Hastily?

COMMENTARY | Signings, releases, and trades are, as expected, running rampant now that the NFL lockout has ceased and teams are back to business. The most interesting trade to pop up is the Denver Broncos choosing to trade off Kyle Orton. At this point, the Miami Dolphins look to be the landing spot.

The teams that were said to be interested - the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings - seem to be filling holes. The Cardinals look to be getting Kevin Kolb, the Seahawks signed Tavaris Jackson, and the Vikings have acquired Donovan McNabb. Orton said he doesn't want to be a stop-gap, but a regular starter. That leaves the Dolphins as his landing spot, most likely.

The choice of moving Orton at all is suspect to me. Being a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, I saw what Orton can do. He impressed me to a point that I was questioning whether or not trading him for Jay Cutler would pan out for the Bears. Since the trade to the Broncos, Orton has posted 41 touchdowns to only 21 interceptions and has thrown for just under 7,500 yards (two seasons). That's a fairly stellar set of numbers.

The Broncos seemingly made their decision a while back when they drafted Tim Tebow out of Florida. I'm just not sold on Tebow. I'm not being cynical, either; I just don't think you can judge a player on three full games of experience. Whenever I hear commentators talk of Tebow, all I hear is intangible jargon: "The Broncos were just a different team when he was in there," I heard one commentator state this week.

Those broad, subjective statements just don't do it for me. And it surely doesn't give me the confidence to trade off my best quarterback. At this time, that's Orton. Yes, intangible qualities like leadership and toughness are important on the grand scheme, but they stand with, not above, good ol' fashioned talent. Don't get me wrong, Tebow could have that talent. I just think people have been dishing out the praise entirely too early.

Orton would be going into competition with Miami's Chad Henne for the starting job if the trade goes through. I'm fairly confident Orton will win that competition. Over the last few years, there is little doubt Orton is the better quarterback. Henne, over the last two seasons, posted 27 touchdowns, 33 interceptions, and just under 6,200 yards. Not abysmal numbers, but not close to Orton's. Henne has also appeared inconsistent, as opposed to looking like a quarterback on the rise. I think it would be a nice upgrade for the Dolphins.

Apparently the Denver management sees something many of us don't. For the Broncos' sake, I hope they're right.

Sources

Kyle Orton's Career Stats

Orton Trade

Chad Henne's Career Stats

Tim Tebow's Career Stats