5 Places Kyle Orton Could Land After Being Released by Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos released quarterback Kyle Orton on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

Here's the tweet from Schefter reporting the move:

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"Filed to ESPN: Denver Broncos waived quarterback Kyle Orton today."

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It isn't often that a veteran quarterback like Orton is released so late in the season, and with teams that are in need of a quarterback right now, Orton should have plenty of suitors. 

Let's run down the top five teams that should be interested in signing Orton. 

Chicago Bears

Chicago feels like the most natural fit for Orton.

Not only does Orton have a familiarity with the city and organization, but the Bears are currently a playoff team that needs a veteran quarterback. Starter Jay Cutler will likely miss the rest of the regular season with a thumb injury. 

From the get-go, the Bears would probably be better off with Orton under center than Caleb Hanie. It's far from a sure thing, but would anyone be surprised if Orton was in Chicago within the next 24-to-48 hours?

Houston Texans

Like the Bears, the Houston Texans have similar issues at quarterback. Matt Schaub was lost for the season two weeks ago, and the franchise has since handed the keys over to Matt Leinart. 

While Leinart is a veteran who's been in the Texans system for two years, he's been wildly unreliable during his career in the NFL. The Arizona Cardinals shipped him out of town after giving him repeated chances to earn the starting job.

Now, any major slip up from Leinart could result in the Texans losing their grip over the AFC South. Adding Orton could provide a backup plan just in case.  

Kansas City Chiefs

A familiar theme is starting to emerge here, but the Chiefs recently lost their starting quarterback for the season and I'm not sure the organization feels like they are completely out of the race in the AFC West.

At 4-6, the Chiefs currently sit two games back of the Oakland Raiders and a game back of the Denver Broncos.

Monday night's three-interception performance from Tyler Palko certainly doesn't inspire much confidence that he could get them back to the playoffs this season. Orton might give them a better shot at defending their AFC West crown down the stretch.  

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins had a major interest in acquiring Orton this past summer, and they were willing to give up picks in order to make it happen. Of course, the deal never went down, but it shows the initial interest in having Orton on the Dolphins' roster. 

However, the play of Matt Moore over the past month might detract the Dolphins from adding a guy like Orton this late. The Dolphins have won three straight games under Moore and there's no chance of Miami getting back into the playoff hunt. 

Washington Redskins

A darkhorse in the Orton sweepstakes (can you call it that?) might be the Redskins, who have had their fair share of struggles at quarterback this season and have no future plan at the position.  

While the Redskins would have to pay Orton's salary this season for a team that is obviously not headed to the playoffs, he could be a part of the Redskins rebuilding plan at the quarterback position.

Obviously, the team should be in the market for a quarterback next April, but Orton would be a reasonable caretaker of the team during the stretch. At the very least, Orton deserves a look from Shanahan and owner Dan Synder.