Kyle Orton's Retirement Brings Buffalo Bills Back to Square 1 at Quarterback

Will one step forward turn into 10 years worth of steps back?

That's what the Buffalo Bills have to be asking themselves after quarterback Kyle Orton led them to their first winning season in a decade, and the next day informed them he is retiring from football.

The Bills may have cleared one hurdle, but they did not finish the playoff race thanks in part to Orton's subpar performance. Orton was efficient this season, completing 64.2 percent of his passes and throwing 18 touchdowns against only 10 interceptions. He had some memorable moments with the Bills, including game-winning drives against the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings.

But he has never been a game-breaking quarterback, and he wasn't in 2014, either. He threw more interceptions than touchdowns in four of the Bills' final five games of the season. He never made a lot of noise with his play on the field, as evidenced by throwing more than one touchdown pass in only five of 12 games and averaging only 6.8 yards per pass attempt this season (30th in the league).

It's fitting, then, that he made almost no noise on his way out of the league.

Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great.

"I was surprised," general manager Doug Whaley said of Orton's retirement. "He told us [Monday] morning, so we had no inclination that he was thinking and making that decision at this time or down the road so it was surprising. As for the future, that's with the evaluation process, we'll start looking at that right after this meeting."

The Bills certainly are not better off without Orton than they were with him, but at least they can begin looking for a quarterback who can lead the team to the playoffs for years to come rather than hitching the wagon to a 32-year-old quarterback whose next playoff game will be his first.

Orton didn't lead the team out of the doldrums; that feat was accomplished by a defense that finished in or near the top 10 in almost every major statistical category. In that respect, the Bills may already be on the path to competing for the playoffs. They are a quarterback and a few offensive linemen away from pushing their way in the postseason picture.

The Bills will need a little luck and a lot of resources if they are to find an answer at the game's most important position this offseason.

The Bills traded their 2015 first-round pick last offseason to move up five spots for wide receiver Sammy Watkins. Watkins is a good player and could be worth the bounty, but that doesn't get the Bills any closer to finding a quarterback of the future.

Perhaps they should start by checking under their own noses. Could EJ Manuel be the long-term answer at quarterback?

Player	Kyle Orton	EJ Manuel
Starts	12	4
Record	7-5	2-2
Comp	287	76
Att	447	131
Comp%	64.2	58
Yds	3018	838
YPA	6.8	6.4
TD	18	5
INT	10	3
Rate	87.8	80.3

Well, the Bills didn't see him as the answer the first time around, pulling him in favor of Orton after only 14 career games as an NFL starter. After 12 straight games and 13 straight weeks of Bills head coach Doug Marrone reminding media he thought Orton gave the team "the best chance to win," it would be laughable if they were to change course now.

Whaley wouldn't say drafting Manuel was a failure, but he did say the Bills are leaving all of their options open with regards to how they will find a quarterback—and don't assume they will stop after adding just one. 

"By sheer numbers, we're going to have to add one, maybe two more," Whaley said. "But that's something that we're going to go through with a fine-tooth comb and see if we can figure it out."

For the moment, the Bills' only option is a competition between Manuel and Jeff Tuel. But just because the Bills don't have a first-round pick doesn't mean they can't add a quarterback at some other point this offseason.

Career numbers	Jake Locker	Christian Ponder	Mark Sanchez	Brian Hoyer	Matt Moore
Starts	23	36	70	17	25
Record	9-14	14-21-1	37-33	10-7	11-12
Comp%	57.5	59.8	56.3	56.5	58.9
YPA	7.0	6.3	6.7	7.2	7.0
TD	27	38	82	19	33
INT	22	36	80	19	28
Rate	79.0	75.9	74.1	76.8	79.2

Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Mark Sanchez and Brian Hoyer are the only free-agent quarterbacks younger than 30 years old with any notable NFL experience. Each of those four has shown flashes at some point in their career, but it would be difficult to sell any of them as a bona fide upgrade over Manuel. 

That being said, Marrone chose the veteran over the young gun this season in 75 percent of the Bills' games this season. 

There is a quarterback available this offseason with skills that are similar to Orton's: Matt Moore, the long-time Miami Dolphins backup and former Carolina Panthers starter. Perhaps the Bills could snare him away from an AFC East rival with the allure of an opportunity to finally start after three years on the bench.

It's also possible the Bills could trade for a quarterback. At this point, everything is conjecture, but the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers all have talented quarterbacks with changes coming at head coach. Imagine Matt Ryan, Jay Cutler or Colin Kaepernick throwing to Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Scott Chandler, C.J. Spiller (if he is re-signed) and Fred Jackson. 

Funny hypothetical: maybe New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will take the Bears job and repeat his 2009 house-cleaning from when he became head coach with the Denver Broncos, when he traded Cutler to the Bears in the first place.

Without a first-round pick, the Bills will have to get creative with how they trade for a quarterback. Linebacker Kiko Alonso, defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and defensive end Mario Williams are not names Bills fans would be happy to see leave, but it's probably going to take at least one major chip to acquire a high-profile quarterback from another team.

But the Bills must be willing to do whatever it takes. They already have a strong nucleus, and a talented quarterback is the one piece that could tip the scales for the Bills franchise and send them back to the playoffs.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.

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