Saturday, July 30, 2011

Conflicting reports emerge on whether Orton-to-Miami deal is dead


Kyle Orton will line up Saturday behind center for his third straight day as the Broncos starting quarterback.
A possible trade to Miami has stalled at best. In Denver, they are saying the deal is totally dead.
“There is no chance he will be traded to the Miami Dolphins,” Mike Klis of the Denver Post writes in a terrific breakdown of how the trade talks broke down.
Klis says the teams were close to an agreement Tuesday night, but Orton started to have second thoughts.  He has one year left on his contract (due to pay him $8.8 million this year) and didn’t want to delay free agency and lower his 2011 pay unless Miami gave him significant guaranteed money in a two-year deal.  They balked.
“Orton decided that if he was going to play on a one-year contract, he might as well stay in Denver,” Klis writes.
The Broncos paid Orton a $1.5 million roster bonus Friday.  Klis reports Orton gets $2.9 million of his base salary even if he’s cut. So the Broncos are in for $4.4 million on Orton this year no matter what.   They can’t cut him now and probably don’t want to.
The more Orton practices with the first team, the harder it will be to demote him.  He’s playing with teammates that like him.  He’s going to have an edge in practice as a veteran.  Orton essentially bet on himself and the Broncos and Dolphins were caught flat-footed. We love it.

source:  PFT.com
author:  Gregg Rosenthal

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