Kyle Orton Release: Former Broncos QB Smart to Blacklist Kansas City Chiefs

When it was first announced that the Denver Broncos were severing ties with Kyle Orton, the team that made the most sense for him were the Chicago Bears.

It appears that he was thinking the same thing and will do anything he can to make that happen. 

However, Orton will have to make it through waivers in order to get to the Bears. All 32 teams can claim him, arranged by record from worst to best, and another team in the playoff mix that needs a quarterback is Kansas City. 

The Chiefs have made no secret that they are interested in Orton, but he is definitely not excited about the possibility of playing for them. 

From Gregg Rosenthal of ProFootballTalk.com: 

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Multiple Chicago reports say the Bears will claim Orton.  But will he get there?

ESPN’s John Clayton said on SportsCenter Wednesday that Orton is “trying to get word out” that he may not report to the Chiefs if Kansas City claims him.

(Presumably, part of getting the word out is telling Clayton to go on ESPN to talk about it.)

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Mike Klis of the Denver Post wrote that Orton and his agent initiated the conversations with the Broncos to get the team to release him. There were financial reasons for the team to get rid of him—they will save around $3 million—so it is not like they didn't have incentive to do it. 

But Jay Cutler's injury caused Orton's eyes to open wide, because he saw an opportunity to play for a contending team over the final six weeks. 

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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 hand Sunday that will likely sideline him for the rest of the season.

"

They say that beggars can't be choosers, but considering everything that Orton has had to deal with the last two years, I say good for him for taking a stand and wanting to dictate where he goes. 

Even after throwing for 7,400 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2008 and 2009 combined, the fans in Denver were still itching for Tim Tebow to be the quarterback. 

Orton started his career in Chicago under Lovie Smith. He knows the city and is comfortable leading that offense. 

The Chiefs are not a good situation to go into. They are not a playoff team despite being 4-6 and just two games behind the Raiders in the division. 

Now Orton just has to wait and see which team is awarded the waiver claim for his services.