Kyle Orton Expects Broncos Talks to Miami About Deal

Kyle Orton, the Lame-duck Denver quarterback met with the media in Denver on Thursday after he practiced with the Broncos and he said he expects to be the starter in Denver despite the fact the Broncos have been talking to Miami about a deal.

However, the deal has hit a snag. The Denver Post reported that Orton looked much better than second-year quarterback Tim Tebow in practice Thursday. “There’s a lot of stuff that goes on business-wise, and I really don’t take any hard feelings or anything like that,” Orton said in quotes released by the Broncos. “I’m excited to be here. I had a lot of fun out there with my teammates today. I’m excited to have a great year."

He said his current expectation is to be the Broncos’ starter. “I expect to be here,” Orton said. “I expect to be the starter here and go out there and play the best football of my career.” Orton didn’t sound worried about losing his job to Tebow. “That’s not the sense that I get,” Orton said. “I’m out there competing and I like my chances if that’s my case.”

Denver coach John Fox wouldn’t say much about the Orton trade talks. “I think out of respect for the players, and just the way we handle things, I’m not going to discuss internal discussions from the building publicly,” Fox said. “That’s the way I’ve always operated, and I think as an organization, we want to do it out of respect.

We’ll have plenty of discussions moving forward. Anything we can do as an organization in our minds to improve our team we will do, but that’s not this, as it relates to Kyle Orton." The talks with the Dolphins are well documented and a deal can still get done. If not, Orton seems prepared to be the Broncos’ starter. As I wrote earlier Thursday, whatever happens, it needs to be done quickly.

Miami Discuss Trade that Send Kyle Orton to the Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins engaged in contract negotiations with Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton. That would indicate that the Broncos are fairly far along in trade talks with teams, to the point where the biggest issue may not be the compensation the Broncos would get. It may be whether Orton can agree to a new contract.

Orton apparently wants to go to a team that views him as a long-term starter, and not as a placeholder to hold onto the job just long enough to get a young quarterback ready. So the dynamic with Orton is looking like the dynamic with Donovan McNabb, where the Redskins and Vikings are willing to deal and now the question is whether McNabb is willing to sign on the dotted line.

Meanwhile, although Tim Tebow showed up bright and early for the first day of Broncos camp, Orton was reportedly one of the last players to arrive. One way or another, Orton appears to be just about done in Denver.