When the Broncos put on full pads this morning for their first contact practice of 2011, quarterback Kyle Orton will be barking protection audibles and snap counts with the first-string offense.
There is no chance he will be traded to the Miami Dolphins. And barring a significant preseason injury to one of the league's starting quarterbacks, Orton is likely to be with the Broncos when their season opens Sept. 12 against Oakland.
What happened? How did Orton go from the trading block one day to again the Broncos' starting quarterback the next? According to several NFL sources, here's how the Orton trade saga played out:
It began with Orton requesting a trade shortly after the 2010 season. He didn't want to leave the Broncos, but he had either sensed, or been led to believe, that the team would be going forward with Tim Tebow as the starting quarterback this season.
Orton had started the previous three NFL seasons, four overall, and his play had measurably improved each year. He was not ready to ride the bench. The Broncos' front office set out to appease Orton. Initially, five teams communicated interest.
Orton, though, must have been the backup plan because, one by one, teams in need of a proven starting quarterback acquired somebody else. Matt Hasselbeck signed with Tennessee; Donovan McNabb was traded to Minnesota; Tarvaris Jackson signed with Seattle; Washington signed backup Kellen Clemens; Arizona acquired Kevin Kolb.
The Dolphins, though, were interested enough in Orton to start the process of restructuring his contract, which had one year and $8.879 million remaining. While Broncos players "voluntarily" reported to the team's headquarters Tuesday, Orton stayed behind as he and his agent David Dunn negotiated with the Dolphins.
On Tuesday night, Orton and the Dolphins were close to an agreement, according to sources, when the Dolphins started having second thoughts. A former fourth-round draft pick, Orton had been playing for "backup" quarterback money for five years. (He made $2.6 million last year.) With an $8.8 million contract coming his way this year and unrestricted free agency seven months away, he didn't want to surrender free agent years for a pay cut.
The Dolphins couldn't acquire Orton for one year because they couldn't carry his $8.8 million against their salary cap. Orton, in turn, decided that if he was going to play on a one-year contract, he might as well stay in Denver.
The deal appeared dead before it even reached the discussion regarding compensation. Contrary to several reports suggesting the hang-up to the deal was about draft pick compensation, the Broncos never made an offer. There was no bluffing or waiting on the Dolphins to meet the Broncos' demand. It never got that far. The Broncos never made an offer. The trade never got past Orton's contract.
With the contract talks bogged down, the Broncos told Orton to report to training camp Wednesday. He did. Tebow was no longer assured of becoming the Broncos' starting quarterback. He was not even the leader in the locker room.
"The guys had a lot of questions," Orton said. "But we got those cleared up. I know my guys, and I'm going to be in the huddle with them."
Meanwhile, talks between the Broncos and Dolphins and Dunn were revived Wednesday morning. Talks got serious for several hours, but again terms of a restructured contract could not be reached.
Orton began training camp's first workout Thursday as the No. 1 quarterback, and Friday the Dolphins signed quarterback Matt Moore to a two-year deal to compete with incumbent starter Chad Henne.
The Dolphins' deal with Orton had fallen apart by Wednesday evening. There remains a chance, although a slim one, that Orton will be traded in the next few weeks. A trade could be facilitated by the fact his $1.5 million roster bonus was exercised Friday, meaning he has only $7.329 million remaining on his contract.
But Orton is now set on staying with the Broncos.
"I'm not going to comment on anything regarding about what happened in the past," Orton said after practice Friday.
The Broncos will not release Orton; if they did, they would still owe him $4.4 million (a $1.5 million roster bonus and $2.9 million in salary). Besides, trade talks haven't changed the fact he's still a proven, quality NFL quarterback.
That leaves three options: Orton stays with the Broncos and is their opening day starter; Orton stays with the Broncos as Tebow's backup; or he is traded before the season.
As of today, Orton is the Broncos' No. 1 quarterback. Tebow is the backup. Brady Quinn is No. 3. Rookie Adam Weber is No. 4.
"As I said yesterday, and I'll repeat the same thing," said Broncos coach John Fox on Friday. "Kyle is on our team, and he had another good practice today."
