Kyle Orton Injury: Updates on Bills QB's Toe and Return

Kyle Orton played every snap against the Miami Dolphins in Week 11, but it was disclosed after the game that he suffered a toe injury during the game.

Continue for updates.

Monday, Nov. 24

Orton Active vs. Jets

The Buffalo Bills media department confirms Kyle Orton's status for tonight's game against the New York Jets:

Thursday, Nov. 13

Orton Suffers Toe Injury vs. Dolphins

According to ESPN's Mike Rodak, Kyle Orton suffered a toe injury in the team's 22-9 loss to the Miami Dolphins Thursday night:

Buffalo started 2-2 with second-year player EJ Manuel under center, but it was determined that a change needed to be made after Manuel struggled in a Week 4 loss to the Houston Texans. That resulted in head coach Doug Marrone turning to Orton, per the Bills' official Twitter account:

It became somewhat apparent prior to the season that the Bills had some reservations regarding Manuel. As pointed out by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Buffalo was willing to part with a big chunk of change to secure a backup signal-caller in Orton:

The change under center paid instant dividends for the Bills, as Orton led them to an upset road win over the Detroit Lions in Week 5. He threw for 308 yards in that game and proved capable of both commanding the offense and finding open receivers.

While nobody necessarily viewed the Purdue product as Buffalo's savior, the overarching feeling was that solid quarterback play would be good enough to make the Bills contenders in the AFC East due to a strong defense and running game.

Now that Orton is dealing with an injury, however, the Bills may be forced to turn to Manuel once again. The Florida State alum seemingly has all of the tools needed to succeed as a quarterback at the NFL level, but he couldn't put everything together in 14 NFL starts.

Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

Even so, Manuel remained undeterred when it was announced that he would be benched in favor of Orton, according to Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News.

"As a competitor it is a tough pill to swallow, but at the same time, I always want to be positive," Manuel said. "I still believe that I'm a good football player and I know there's tons of room for me to grow. I'll get there."

If Manuel's attitude leads to good play on the field, then there is a chance that the 24-year-old passer can win his job back. There is no guarantee that the coaching staff is willing to anoint him, but he has a new lease on life at the very least.

Provided Manuel offers up more of the same as Buffalo's starting quarterback, though, Bills fans will be eager to see Orton back in action.

Having missed the playoffs every season since 1999, there is an understandable amount of impatience in Buffalo regarding a postseason berth. If marked improvement is not shown by Manuel, then Orton's absence could quite possibly contribute to another year without playoff football.

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