Why Denver Broncos Should Have Cut Brady Quinn, Not Kyle Orton

Well, it finally happened Broncos fans, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Denver waived Kyle Orton on Tuesday afternoon. 

That being said, it begs the question: Why not cut Brady Quinn instead? We know that Orton was never going to see the field again once Tim Tebow was named the starter, however, Orton has more trade value than Quinn.

Since being drafted in the first round out of Notre Dame by Cleveland in 2007, Brady Quinn has been nothing but a disappointment. When in Cleveland from 2007-09, Quinn compiled just over 1,900 yards and threw 10 TDs to nine picks while also fumbling three times.

Then, he was traded to Denver for RB Peyton Hillis and to this point, that trade has been awful for the Broncos. Quinn hasn't seen the field yet in the Mile High City, but he is now Tim Tebow's backup.

I'm not saying that Quinn isn't a solid backup, but Orton is a much more established NFL QB and has more trade value, period. Twice he's thrown for over 3,500 yards and 20 TDs so someone could surely use him. And we know that once the offseason hit that Orton was bound to be gone anyway, so why not at least get something for him?

Perhaps Chicago could have once again been a trade partner, as well. According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post, Orton wouldn't mind going back to the Bears:

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Orton and his agent David Dunn had started talking to Broncos officials about the move after it was learned Chicago Bears' quarterback Jay Cutler suffered a broken thumb on his right passing thumb Sunday that will likely sideline him for the rest of the season.

"

Could have maybe got a draft pick or two out of it.

With that said, Denver's not going to get anything if they decide to trade Brady Quinn, but by the looks of it, 2012 is slated to have Tebow enter as the starter and Quinn as the backup. Which is fine, but why not get something for both Orton and Quinn then draft a QB?

That way, if Tebow doesn't produce, there's a rookie that can give the Broncos offense a fresh start as opposed to Quinn who hasn't been good enough to see the field. As for what may happen the rest of 2011, the Broncos obviously like Quinn better than Orton, so maybe they're creating a new offensive package.

Quinn does have a stronger arm than Orton and is much more mobile, so making their offense more dynamic and letting Brady get some snaps in passing situations could be the plan. In addition, there may also be longer ideas in place here.

Develop Brady Quinn and Tebow the rest of this season and throughout the offseason, have a solid and equal competition during the 2012 training camp to hit the ground running next fall. And with Orton being gone now, we cant expect the Broncos to draft a QB unless they plan on cutting Quinn later on.

Obviously all that remains to be seen, however, that would not come as a surprise either. Now it was the correct decision to eventually get rid of Orton with Tebow under center, and not getting anything for Orton may also means that Denver felt he had no trade value.

Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how all this plays out with Quinn as the backup who does have much less trade value, if any, than Kyle Orton.

Follow John Rozum on Twitter @ Sportswriter27