The Dallas Cowboys are indeed looking for a quarterback of the future, regardless of what anyone in Valley Ranch says to the contrary. Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is playing some of the best football of his career right now, but he’s not getting any younger. However, the solution is not recently released Kyle Orton. The Denver Broncos may no longer have any use for Orton, but neither do the Cowboys.
ESPN Dallas’ Todd Archer wrote Tuesday night that Orton would be a nice addition to Dallas’ stable of quarterbacks. He does have some valid points, but he missed a few that confirm the Cowboys’ best option is to forget about Orton.
At 29 years old, Orton is old enough to possess some valuable NFL experience, but not young enough to put on the bench for three years while Romo stumbles through the twilight of his career. He has proven he can be an elite fantasy football player, but Orton is not a franchise quarterback that can lead a team to the playoffs on a regular basis.
If the Cowboys did sign Orton, he’s in the last year of his contract, meaning he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season. Dallas would have to pay Orton the remaining $2.6 million of his Denver salary and then either re-sign him in the offseason or sign him to an extension now. As mentioned, he’s not the long-term solution at quarterback for the Cowboys.
However, Orton could help Dallas for the remainder of this season alone, and I don’t mean by playing. The Chicago Bears are one of the teams Dallas is trying to beat out of a wildcard playoff spot. The Bears are 7-3 while the Cowboys are 6-4. Bears starting quarterback Jay Cutler broke the thumb on his throwing hand this past Sunday, so Chicago is looking for a quarterback. If Dallas signed Orton and then let him walk in February, that would keep him away from Chicago.
Archer argues that reason alone is enough to behoove Dallas to sign Orton, but I disagree. Orton isn’t going to sign with a team like Dallas that he knows he won’t play. Orton knows as well as anybody that the Bears, Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans all just lost their starting quarterback to injury and are licking their chops to sign him.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, we must remember that any NFL team can put a waiver claim on Orton and several come before Dallas in the pecking order. Granted that he falls that far, the Cowboys could sign Orton and then use him as trade bait for a team like the three previously mentioned or another one that’s looking for a long-term answer like the Miami Dolphins, who the Cowboys play on Thursday.
Do you see where I’m going with this? Signing Orton involves way too many “what ifs” and Dallas knows good and well he won’t be there longer than the remainder of this season. If the Cowboys are to stick with Stephen McGee as the eventual Romo successor, why being in Orton to take his roster spot while he’s the backup quarterback? Jon Kitna is injured, but do you really think Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett is going to hand Orton the reigns to his team if Romo gets injured knowing that he won’t be around next season?
I’m telling you; tinkering with team chemistry while riding a three-game winning streak is a bad idea. Everyone in the locker room would know why Orton was there and know he’d be gone very soon. If the situation arose where Romo and Kitna were both hurt, playing Orton would crush McGee’s morale, even though he’s the guy that will still be in Dallas next year and beyond. You have to look past playing keep away with the Bears and the end of this season before saying something crazy like the Cowboys should sign Orton.
Contact Jeric Griffin on Twitter @JericGriffin
Buy Dallas Cowboys Tickets | Buy Dallas Cowboys Apparel[...] Home › NFL › No, Kyle Orton to the Dallas Cowboys is NOT a Good Idea [...]
One Rant to “No, Kyle Orton to the Dallas Cowboys is NOT a Good...”