A report recently surfaced from the NFL Network that the Broncos wouldn’t trade quarterback Kyle Orton for anything less than a second round pick.
Whether the Broncos are just posturing or not, Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post gets the same vibe.
“If the Broncos were to receive an offer for Orton they couldn’t refuse, you could see them pulling the trigger on a trade,” Legwold writes. “But they haven’t given any indication they plan to move Orton out of the way so Tebow can be the starter at football’s most important position.”
Furthermore, Legwold says that people in the NFL that know Fox well believe he prefers Orton over Tebow in 2011 because he wants to win right away.
The Broncos burnt a lot of calories before the draft appearing to smokescreen interest in rookie quarterbacks. They are very possibly doing the same thing here with their interest in retaining Orton in an effort to drive up his price tag.
The difference here is that keeping Orton does make some sense in a shortened offseason. Panthers fans will be glad to tell you about Fox’s love for playing veterans over untested young talent.
