Kyle Orton

Rookie starter of the 2005 division champions, later traded for Jay Cutler.

Kyle Orton (born 1982) is a former NFL quarterback drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round in 2005 who started 15 games as a rookie after Rex Grossman was hurt and regained the job in 2008. Chicago then traded him to Denver in the deal that brought Jay Cutler.

Quick Facts

Number: 18, 8
Position: Quarterback
Born: 14 November 1982
Birthplace: Altoona, Iowa, U.S.
High school: Southeast Polk (Pleasant Hill, Iowa)
College: Purdue (2001–2004)
Draft year: 2005
Draft pick: 106

Facts from the source article.

Background

Pressed into the lineup as a rookie after Grossman's preseason injury and Chad Hutchinson's poor play, Orton went 10-5 as a starter, including an eight-game winning streak after a 1-3 start, while the coaches asked him to avoid mistakes and let the running game and defense win. His 59.7 passer rating was the lowest among qualified quarterbacks, but his 15 starts and 10 wins were both Bears rookie records, and he also set rookie marks for completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns. Grossman replaced him for the playoffs.

He did not play in 2006 behind Grossman and Brian Griese and started only the final three games of 2007, winning the last two. Lovie Smith named him the 2008 starter on August 18 after a deadlocked camp competition with Grossman, and he opened with a 29-13 upset of Indianapolis and a 334-yard, 121.4-rating day against Detroit. An ankle injury in Week 9 interrupted a hot stretch, and the Bears finished 9-7, one game out of the playoffs.

Smith wanted him back in 2009, but general manager Jerry Angelo sought a long-term answer and sent Orton to the Broncos. He later played for Kansas City, Dallas and Buffalo, where he went 7-5 as the 2014 starter before retiring. At Purdue he was the only Boilermaker quarterback to start four straight bowl games.

Did You Know?

Orton's 10 wins as a 2005 rookie are a Bears record and were the sixth-most by any rookie since 1970.
He wore number 18 in honour of Nebraska quarterback Brook Berringer, who died in a 1996 plane crash.