As the Tennessee Titans continue the search for their next starting quarterback, we’ll continue to examine some of the more intriguing options that may be available.
Recently, the possibility of acquiring young and talented QB Kevin Kolb was discussed. Sure, he’d look great in the Titans’ huddle for years to come but as I mentioned in the article, the price to snag him away from Philly is going to be steep to say the least.
Today, we’ll take a look at the potential of trading for another signal-caller: Denver’s Kyle Orton, a guy the Titans may be able to acquire without relinquishing their highly valuable first-round draft pick.
Kyle Orton: The Rodney Dangerfield of NFL QBs
As I said in a recent article regarding the Titans’ search for a new signal-caller, Kyle Orton is quickly becoming a candidate for the Rodney Dangerfield award: despite putting up some solid numbers, he gets no respect.
His current employer (Denver) and his previous one (Chicago) possessed a “grass is greener” mentality regarding Orton’s performance. In their minds, Orton’s a solid quarterback but in spite of his antics, the aforementioned franchises were determined to replace him with a younger/more “sexier” option.
In Chicago, he was initially replaced by Rex Grossman after quarterbacking the Bears to a surprise 11-5 record in 2005. After wrestling the job away from Rexy a couple of years later, the Bears decided to cut ties with Orton by giving away what’s equivalent to a king’s ransom in return for Denver’s Jay Cutler. Despite Orton once again playing solid football, that apparently wasn’t enough for the Broncos, who over the last couple of years, have twice attempted to replace him, trading for Brady Quinn and drafting Tim Tebow.
Verdict
Personally, in terms of his ability, I’m a bit intrigued by what Orton would bring to the table. He’s a veteran QB who’s still young enough (28) to hold down the fort for several years to come.
Despite other teams constantly trying to replace him, he continues to improve at perfecting his craft, as indicated by last year’s performance which consisted of throwing for 3,653 yards, 20 TDs and 9 INTS while accumulating a career-high 87.5 QB rating. The Titans saw up-close-and-personal what Orton was capable of in 2010, as he threw for 341 yards and two scores in Denver’s 26-20 victory in week four.
Compared to Kolb, in terms of price, Orton would also serve as a better fit. According to reports, Denver is wanting at least a second-round pick in exchange for Orton. That’s a more favorable level of compensation compared to possibly giving up a first-rounder in exchange for Kolb, who despite being viewed as an up-and-comer at the QB position, is only two years younger than Orton and nowhere near as accomplished.
What’s your take, guys? Should the Titans set their sights on trading for Kyle Orton?
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