In the midst of arguably the most foolish holdout in Denver Broncos’ history, some breaking news came today out of the Mile High City that was actually in regards to the football field.  New quarterback Kyle Orton was officially named the starter by head coach Josh McDaniels.

“We’ve named Kyle the starter, and again we said from day one that when it was clear and apparent to us through a number of practices, meetings, and those type of things that you evaluate the quarterback on that we would make a decision and we have,” McDaniels said.  “That certainly does not mean that there won’t be competition in training camp because there will…Kyle has the job right now but we will see if he can keep it.”

It has been a rough offseason for many in Denver, but this news comes as a major relief to Orton, who thinks this offense has a bright future ahead.

“Obviously I’m really excited,” Orton said. “It’s really just the beginning for me and this offense and hopefully just continue to improve everyday—get myself and the offense where we need to be for the season.”

Even though Orton is the starter now in June, he still knows Chris Simms is hot on his heels.

“He is still fighting his butt off to take over the job, and I need to keep playing well,” Orton said.

One reason it was easy for McDaniels to trade away Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears was not just because of the draft pick compensation they received in return, but the fact that Orton is a very smart quarterback who can pick up this complex offense.

“Yeah it’s difficult,” Orton said, “It’s a new system—it’s certainly difficult for every guy but that’s our job is to learn it and execute it, and we’ve been working hard to do it.”

Now that more than two months have passed since the Cutler trade, Broncos’ fans are more at ease due to the fact Orton will be under center this season. 

Prior to going down with an ankle injury last season, Orton was playing the best ball of his life, completing 62.23 percent of his passes for 1,669 yards, and 10 touchdowns compared to only four interceptions.

And that was with a makeshift receiving group.

Now with Denver, Orton has a receiving group that features the likes of Brandon Marshall, Brandon Stokley, Eddie Royal, Jabar Gaffney, Tony Scheffler, Daniel Graham, Peyton Hillis, Knowshon Moreno, and Correll Buckhalter.

Some fantasy analysts are projecting Orton to have a career season in his first year with the Broncos.

 

Marshall Update

Marshall was in Dove Valley for a brief period of time yesterday to meet with Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and was seen leaving with some boxes.  The significance of the boxes remains to be seen, but the Pro Bowl wide receiver’s situation grows stickier by the day.

Some are suggesting he will be traded, but the smart money says Marshall will report to training camp and play another year with the Broncos.

Marshall is reportedly unhappy about his contract, and the Broncos appear to be hesitant to renew that contract due to Marshall’s legal situation as well as his recent major hip surgery. 

The smart thing for Marshall to do is report to the Broncos’ mandatory mini-camp, as he is losing a projected $9,000 dollars per session.

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