Miami Dolphins News: Kyle Orton Deal Is Dead, but Don't Blame Ireland.

After days and hours of speculation, the Dolphins have signed a new quarterback to compete with Chad Henne for the starting job.

It wasn't Kyle Orton though. That deal right now is dead, and not in an Elvis "I think I saw him at Burger King last week" kind of way.

Matt Moore is the new quarterback to challenge Henne, which is like upgrading from Rosie O'Donnell to Star Jones.

But as easy as it could be to blame Jeff Ireland, I can't.

Fact is, Ireland had the advantage the entire time. The Broncos needed to get rid of Kyle Orton more than the Dolphins needed to get him. I know that would sound crazy, but blame the Broncos for that. They're the ones going into trading camp having all but handed the starting job to Tim Tebow, and they're the ones who advertised it with a bullhorn. 

Then there's the fact that Denver is $9 million over the cap, and Orton's deal is for a shade less than $9 million. It's not too hard to put two-and-two together to see that this is a trade that needed to be made by both teams, but Denver needed it more.

Meanwhile, Ireland and the Dolphins brass did a great job in keeping it close to the vest. They didn't say they needed a new quarterback, just someone that would "push Chad Henne in training camp."

The mindset projected to the rest of the world from Davie was that Henne would be the starter, but that they weren't ready to just hand him the job. 

Of course this isn't exactly true. Orton is more efficient and experienced than Henne and already has a good rapport with Brandon Marshall. There would've been a competition, however. Henne would've needed to become the second coming of Dan Marino to even have a shot at taking the job. 

But that's not what was communicated to Denver, which is a good thing.

When trying to make the trade, you don't want to look desperate. This time around, it was Denver who looked too desperate to get a second-round pick for a quarterback that they're going to pay $9 million to be a backup.

The Dolphins didn't budge, and that's a good thing. Orton is good but not worth a second-round pick in next year's draft. If anything, the Dolphins should've offered Phillip Merling and a fifth-rounder.

They'd provide Denver with a defender that they sorely needed, shed some salary to offset the cap hit and give a talented player a change of scenery that's needed to a team that needs him, all while acquiring a quality starting quarterback. 

I don't know if that deal was offered, but I'm sure it was discussed. Dolphins fans can be mad that we didn't acquire Kyle Orton but don't be mad at GM Jeff Ireland.

Even in not acquiring Orton, he did the right thing, held his ground and didn't offer too much, and then, walked away from a deal with a desperate team, which should actually help down the line, not only if we revisit a Kyle Orton deal, but also in dealing with other teams.

Thomas Galicia is a Miami Dolphins Featured Columnist who also covers the Miami Heat, Miami Hurricanes football, Chicago Cubs and professional wrestling. For more of his non-sports writing, visit www.thomasgalicia.com. Also be sure to like this article on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.