Kyle Orton

Latest On Doug Marrone, Bills’ Front Office

September 5th, 2014 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

2:39pm: A league source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the cause of the heated exchange between Marrone and team officials was the Bills’ decision to sign Kyle Orton so late in the preseason to a contract that suggests he may see playing time this season. As Florio points out, for Buffalo to have a good season, E.J. Manuel will likely need to play well, and bringing in a highly-paid veteran backup a week before the season begins may not be the best approach for building his confidence.

2:06pm: According to a report from Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, Bills head coach Doug Marrone was recently involved in a “loud verbal altercation” with various members of the team’s front office, including director of player personnel Jim Monos. La Canfora reports that the incident between Marrone and Monos resulted in general manager Doug Whaley and team president Russ Brandon to get involved as well.

La Canfora continues by writing that Marrone has clashed with a few players during the preseason, and that the coach and the front office disagree about the value of certain players, and how they’re being used — that includes guard Kraig Urbik, whom the club reportedly shopped as trade bait recently. According to the CBSSports.com scribe, Marrone also has a “strained relationship” with Monos, and told team execs to “go ahead and fire me” during the aforementioned verbal spat.

While La Canfora’s report seems damning, a pair of Bills beat writers have suggested it may not be entirely accurate. Per Tim Graham of the Buffalo News (via Twitter), a source says Monos wasn’t even present for the reported altercation, and that Marrone’s “go ahead and fire me” comment was made over beers at another time, and was being laughed about in a matter of minutes.

Meanwhile, Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550 has a response from Marrone himself, who indicated that the report is “very much” overblown.

“Hey, did we have a discussion? Absolutely. I confirm that absolutely,” Marrone said. “Are we great? We talk every day, three times a day. We talk about a lot of things. We’re competitive and I couldn’t be happier with those guys, I really couldn’t. And then the thing about Jim is great, too, because I was one of the ones that recommended Jim to come here. So there’s a lot of things in that that I think I’ll probably catch a lot of heat on from my friends because it’s just not true.“

It makes sense that Marrone would deny, or at least downplay, any tension between him and the front office, so it’s hard to know exactly how much truth there is to La Canfora’s initial report. With expectations on the rise following the addition of wideout Sammy Watkins this offseason, another last-place season in 2014 might mean Marrone’s days in Buffalo are numbered, regardless of whether or not there’s friction amongst the team’s ranks.

As La Canfora notes, it’s also possible that a shake-up could be in the works when the sale process is finalized and the franchise’s new owners take over. However, Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula continues to look like the clear-cut favorite to buy the team, and La Canfora hears that a Pegula win would make it less likely that the franchise is overhauled immediately.

Bills Sign Kyle Orton

September 2nd, 2014 at 12:52pm CST by Dallas Robinson

TUESDAY, 12:52pm: Per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter links), Orton’s deal features a $3MM signing bonus, a $2.5MM base salary for 2014, and a voidable $5.5MM base salary for 2015.

SATURDAY, 2:53pm: The Bills have confirmed the transaction via press release.

FRIDAY, 10:28pm: Graham confirms (Twitter link) that the deal is indeed for one year, with a player option for 2016. The Bills anticipate that Orton will remain in Buffalo for both seasons.

10:24pm: Sources tell Graham (on Twitter) that Orton’s deal is for two years, rather than one. However, he notes that we could be dealing with semantics, as the second year could be an option.

10:05pm: Tim Graham of the Buffalo News tweets that while a deal is not yet signed, the two sides are very close.

9:27pm The Bills have agreed to sign quarterback Kyle Orton to a one-year contract, reports James Walker of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Orton, who flirted with retirement before being released by the Cowboys on July 16, will act as a backup to starter E.J. Manuel. Adam Caplan of ESPN.com noted earlier today that Orton could be an option for the Bills, who had been eying the veteran QB market.

Orton, 31, is a veteran of eight NFL seasons, having entered the league as a Bears fourth-round pick in 2005. While spending time in Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, and Dallas, the former Purdue Boilermaker has started 70 games, completing 58.5% of his passes for over 15,000 yards and 83 touchdowns.

Orton was a starter for most of his career until signing with the Cowboys prior to the 2012 season; during the past two years, he’s started just one game in relief of an injured Tony Romo. It seemed as though Orton’s preference was to secure only a No. 2 job — several teams surely would have offered him a chance at a starting role. His career goals became even murkier when he contemplated retirement earlier this summer, engaging in an odd standoff that ultimately led to Dallas cutting him loose.

The Cowboys were set to pay Orton $3.25MM in base salary for the upcoming season, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Bills at least matched that figure. After releasing Thad Lewis and Jordan Palmer in recent days, Jeff Tuel was the only quarterback remaining behind Manuel on the Bills’ depth chart. Manuel missed six games due to injury in 2013, and was ineffective when he did suit up, so it wouldn’t be surprising for Orton to see some regular season action in Buffalo this season.

East Notes: Bills, Giants, Jets, Cowboys

September 2nd, 2014 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Although a report last week suggested that the Toronto-based attempting to buy the Bills had parted ways with lead bidder Jon Bon Jovi, that’s not exactly the case, says John Kryk of the Toronto Sun. According to Kryk, Bon Jovi never left the group, but he and his partners remain “highly pessimistic” they’ll be able to buy the franchise. With final bids due a week from today, sources tell Kryk it wouldn’t be a surprise if Bon Jovi’s group disbanded before that deadline, but for now they continue to consider whether or not to submit a final bid.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s two East divisions:

Six players are auditioning today for the final two spots on the Giants‘ practice squad, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Per Graziano, former Ball State wideout Willie Snead will be among the players in attendance, and we heard yesterday that offensive lineman Adam Gettis would also be working out for the team.
Jets GM John Idzik continues to say he has no regrets about the Jets’ approaching to fortifying the cornerback position this offseason, even after the release of the team’s only notable free agent signee (Dimitri Patterson). Seth Walder of the New York Daily News has the details and quotes.
Appearing on his weekly radio show on KRLD-FM in Dallas, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones weighed in on Dez Bryant and Kyle Orton, suggesting that not having a contract extension in place by Week 1 wouldn’t be a distraction for Bryant. Jones added that Orton expressed some interest in continuing his career with the Cowboys before the team released him, but that Dallas had opted to go with Brandon Weeden as its backup instead (links via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram).
Earlier today, we rounded up some comments made by Tom Brady on his future with the Patriots and the team’s decision to trade Logan Mankins.

AFC East Rumors: Bills, Urbik, Patriots

August 29th, 2014 at 4:42pm CST by Luke Adams

We heard yesterday that the Bills had been dangling wide receiver T.J. Graham as a trade chip for several months, but Graham apparently isn’t the only player Buffalo is willing to move. According to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), the Bills have also been gauging potential trade interest in offensive lineman Kraig Urbik, who is set to earn a $2.275MM base salary in 2014 and is seemingly falling out of favor with the team.

As we wait to see if the Bills can find a taker for Graham or Urbik, here are a couple more Bills notes, along with an update on one of their divisional rivals:

After having parted ways with Thad Lewis earlier in the week, the Bills are on the lookout for a No. 2 quarterback to back up E.J. Manuel, says ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). Jordan Palmer was also cut by the team today, so it appears Jeff Tuel will head into the season as Manuel’s backup if Buffalo doesn’t make another move, but the team would prefer someone with more experience, according to Caplan, who identifies Kyle Orton as a possible target (Twitter link)
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explores the reported bids on the Bills, trying to deduce why the figures cited so far have ranged so significantly. One report, for instance, suggested Jon Bon Jovi‘s Toronto group had bid $809MM for the franchise, while another reported placed the bid between $1 and $1.1 billion.
According to Jason La Canfora (via Twitter), there have been “rumblings” that the Patriots may part with Stevan Ridley this week, or that the team may keep just two quarterbacks, which presumably would mean trading or cutting Ryan Mallett. La Canfora adds that he’d be “very surprised” if either of those actually happens, though as we saw with this week’s Logan Mankins deal, the Pats won’t shy away from making unexpected roster moves.

Sunday Roundup: Bon Jovi, Orton, Browns

August 3rd, 2014 at 12:58pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s round up some links from around the league as Sunday morning turns into Sunday afternoon:

In order to stem concerns from Bills‘ fans that the Toronto-based group led by rocker Jon Bon Jovi would like to ultimately move the team to Toronto if its ownership bid is successful, Bon Jovi himself wrote a letter published in the Buffalo News on Sunday morning stating that he hopes to make the Bills successful “in Buffalo.” As John Wawrow of the Associated Press writes, however, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz told the AP several weeks ago that he has no doubts regarding Bon Jovi’s group’s long-term intentions to move the team to Toronto.
Bears‘ GM Phil Emery is open to a reunion with Kyle Orton if Orton wants to play in 2014, writes Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com. Orton, who was released by the Cowboys last month, began his career in Chicago and the Bears have twice tried to re-sign him since trading him to Denver in the Jay Cutler deal five years ago. Orton would represent an upgrade at backup quarterback over Jimmy Clausen and Jordan Palmer.
Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer thinks that it is a “good sign” that Browns‘ receiver Josh Gordon and his attorneys are heading back to New York on Monday to resume Gordon’s appeal hearing. Cabot believes that Gordon will still be suspended, but perhaps not indefinitely.
In the same piece, Cabot opines that Browns‘ second-year pro Barkevious Mingo could produce double-digit sacks in 2014. George M. Thomas and Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal similarly believe that Mingo looks poised for a breakout campaign.
In a separate piece, Ulrich writes that Browns‘ rookie QB Johnny Manziel could be gaining ground on presumed starter Brian Hoyer.
Scott Brown of ESPN.com writes that Steelers‘ head coach Mike Tomlin is paying particularly close attention to the unheralded running backs fighting to make the team’s 53-man roster, including Tauren Poole, Miguel Maysonet, and Josh Harris.
I posted an article earlier today regarding a potential contract extension for 49ers‘ head coach Jim Harbaugh, and Eric Branch of the San Fransisco Chronicle adds to that discussion. He writes that CEO Jed York believes he and Harbaugh are “on the same page” in their contract talks and that both parties will assess where they are after the 2014 season.
Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune writes that Buccaneers wide receiver Tommy Streeter has been the pleasant surprise of training camp thus far.
Herbie Teope of ChiefsSpin.com tweets that Chiefs‘ star safety Eric Berry returned to practice today.
ESPN.com has created a chart detailing the first impressions that the first-round picks of 2014 have made.

North Notes: Bears, Jimmy Smith, Packers

July 25th, 2014 at 12:44pm CST by Luke Adams

After submitting his choices for the 50 best trade assets in the NFL earlier this week, Grantland’s Bill Barnwell shifts gears and takes a look today at the worst contracts in the league. Leading the way on offense is Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, whose contract will be stuck on the club’s books for several more years. On the other side of the ball, Everson Griffen of the Vikings, Paul Kruger of the Browns, and Troy Polamalu of the Steelers are a few of Barnwell’s picks for players with the least team-friendly deals.

Here’s more from out of the NFL’s two North divisions:

The Bears have twice tried to re-sign Kyle Orton since trading him away five years ago, and Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune wonders if the team could look his way once again if neither Jordan Palmer nor Jimmy Clausen steps up as the No. 2 QB behind Jay Cutler. It’s unclear at this point whether Orton intends to continue his playing career in 2014.
Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith doesn’t anticipate signing a contract extension anytime soon, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (via Twitter). That doesn’t mean Smith isn’t interested in a long-term stay in Baltimore, but he likely recognizes his leverage is limited with two years still left on his deal.
Speaking to reporters today, including Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link), Packers coach Mike McCarthy continued to leave the door open to the possibility of Jermichael Finley rejoining the team, adding that the tight end is “still a Packer” in his opinion.
With both the team and the league enjoying “unparalleled financial prosperity” and the salary cap continuing to rise, the Packers will have plenty of money to invest both on and off the field going forward, team president Mark Murphy said yesterday (link via Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Jerry Jones: Kyle Orton Doesn’t Plan To Retire

July 23rd, 2014 at 6:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Kyle Orton won’t be playing for the Cowboys in 2014, but he’s not necessarily done with the NFL. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters, including Marc Sessler of NFL.com, that the backup veteran quarterback has no intentions to call it quits and want to keep playing in 2014, just not for Dallas.

Jones explained that Tony Romo‘s former backup planned to report for camp in order to force the team’s hand, but wasn’t going to actually suit up in games for the Cowboys.

“Once he gave an indication that he was not going to retire and come back with all the other aspects of not having participated in the spring work that we did…then it was decision time on our part.” Jones said. “You need to be out there, you need to be on the field, you need to be doing your best every play, or somebody else can step up there. That’s all alive and well in this decision. But it’s important to understand that we were paying Kyle a lot of money. That money can go toward paying (someone) that can help us win in our judgment more than having that much invested in him, his position of backup quarterback.”

Orton, 31, had strongly indicated throughout the offseason that his preference was to end his playing career, but the Cowboys hoped he’d either return or formally retire so that they could recoup some of his bonus money. Ultimately, Orton won the stare down with Dallas and was granted his release. While he won’t get his base salary of $3.25MM, he did manage to keep his entire signing bonus. The Cowboys are down a backup QB, but they have a little additional cap flexibility this year, which could help facilitate extensions for Dez Bryant or Tyron Smith.

Orton, who has spent time with the Bears, Broncos, Chiefs, and Cowboys has more than 15,000 career passing yards to go along with 83 touchdowns in 75 total contests (70 starts). It sounds like he’ll look to add to that total in 2014.

Cowboys Release Kyle Orton

July 16th, 2014 at 10:21am CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 10:21am: The Cowboys have officially announced Orton’s release, per Brian McIntyre (via Twitter).

TUESDAY, 4:22pm: The standoff between Kyle Orton and the Cowboys has come to an end, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link), who reports that the team is releasing the quarterback.

Orton, 31, had strongly indicated throughout the offseason that his preference was to end his playing career, but the Cowboys hoped he’d return for the 2014 season as Tony Romo‘s backup. The situation led to an impasse, with Orton refusing to report to spring workouts and practices, while the Cowboys kept him on the roster in the hopes of pushing him to either report or to officially retire, at which point the team could attempt to recoup some of his bonus money.

Now that Dallas has opted to release the veteran signal-caller, the club will no longer be able to recover any of Orton’s signing bonus — however, the team is at least off the hook for his 2014 base salary of $3.25MM. Of the $3.383MM in dead money remaining on Orton’s deal, which ran through 2016, $1.128MM will apply to this year’s cap, with the remainder hitting the 2015 books. As such, the team creates a little additional cap flexibility this year, which could come in handy for additional signings or extensions for players like Dez Bryant or Tyron Smith.

Orton, who has spent time with the Bears, Broncos, Chiefs, and Cowboys, is now free to formally retire, and presumably won’t attempt to catch on with another club in time for the 2014 season. If he doesn’t play another snap in the NFL, the Purdue alum will finish his career having compiled more than 15,000 passing yards to go along with 83 touchdowns in 75 total contests (70 starts).

As for the Cowboys, they’ll turn to Brandon Weeden and Caleb Hanie as potential backup options behind Romo. The club will also have an open spot on its 90-man roster, which could be used on another QB or any other free agent.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cowboys Notes: Orton, Romo, Jones

July 1st, 2014 at 8:59am CST by Ben Levine

The Kyle Orton–Cowboys standoff continues, but Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News says that there’s nothing for fans to worry about. After all, if Tony Romo gets hurt for a significant amount of time, the team “is doomed” either way. That may sound relatively pessimistic, but the writer seems to be on to something.

Gosselin looked at the success of backup quarterbacks from around the league. In 2013, starters won about 54 percent of the time while the backups only won 35 percent of their starts. Since 2000, backups have won 41 percent of their games, but that number is a bit misleading because of two outliers (Tom Brady‘s 11-3 record in 2001 and Ben Roethlisberger‘s 13-0 record in 2004).

The Cowboys could hold on to the dependable Orton, but history doesn’t suggest success if he’s thrust into a starting role. Instead, the team will hope he retires. As Gosselin notes, Orton would have to repay the Cowboys $3MM of his $5MM signing bonus if he decides to hang up the cleats. If he is cut, the Cowboys are responsible for the entire bonus.

Let’s see what else is happening in the Cowboys organization…

In a likely effort to avoid a third back surgery, Tony Romo told David Moore of The Dallas Morning News that he has given up golf. Golf is more than a hobby to Romo – the quarterback has won a number of amateur tournaments and nearly qualified for the U.S. Open. However, Romo understands what he needs to do to stay healthy. “It’s not just golf. It’s a way you live life,” he said. “I don’t think about it as [giving up] golf. It’s just life. You want to give yourself the best chance to succeed on the football field.”
Former Cowboys running back Felix Jones is still confident he’ll be in the NFL next season. The 27-year-old appeared in 16 games for the Steelers last season but only ran for 184 yards in a backup role. “I know something is going to happen, I have a gut feeling,” Jones said, via Kieran Steckley of TulsaWorld.com. “I just have to stay prepared for it…I played the game for a few years. I kinda got the hang for what’s going on in the NFL at my position. I know I can teach younger guys. Obviously I still got some gas in my motor.”

NFC East Notes: Watkins, Linehan, Orton

June 21st, 2014 at 1:52pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Eagles have concluded their OTA period, and Jimmy Kempski of Philly.com has highlighted five players who impressed during spring practices. Among those who left a good impression were Arrelious Benn and Darren Sproles. Benn has an uphill battle for one of the roster spots at receiver, and his injury history hurts has chances, but he looks to have recovered from the ACL injury that caused him to miss all of 2013. Sproles however looks custom fit for the Chip Kelly offense, and could be dangerous in the passing game.

Here are some other notes from around the NFC East:

Fourth-round pick Jaylen Watkins has wowed the Eagles‘ coaching staff with his football IQ, especially defensive backs coach John Lovett, reports Jake Kaplan of Philly.com. Watkins, who played corner and safety at Florida, has been tasked with learning both cornerback and nickelback in the new defense, even though he is only a rookie. “When you talk to him about his defense at Florida, he knew what everybody did,” Lovett said. “I talked to the defensive coordinator [D.J. Durkin] down there. They put him in at positions that he hadn’t even practiced that week because he knew what everybody was doing. He’s really got a great football IQ.”
Scott Linehan will be running the show for the Cowboys‘ offense in 2013, and that should mean a lot of throwing the football, writes Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. In three years with the Lions, Matthew Stafford averaged 42 pass attempts per game under Linehan. Tony Romo averaged only 36 last year.
Although Cowboys backup Kyle Orton has already accrued over $150,000 in fines and de-escalators for the time he has missed, but Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com still believes the veteran quarterback will return to the team and play out the season. Archer predicts Orton could skip the first week of training camp, before reporting around July 27th of 28th.
Redskins‘ outside linebacker coach Brian Baker has been working hard to teach fundamentals to his position group, writes John Keim of ESPN.com. He also worked on tackling drills during special teams, and the teams has put a special emphasis on that phase of the game, using all their coaches’ skills to benefit their special teams.
The Giants have also concluded their OTAs, so Jordan Raanan and Connor Orr of NJ.com have put together their best guess at the depth chart. A lot can happen during training camp and the preseason, but they have penciled in a presumed lineup for the upcoming season.

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