There are several players on the Chiefs roster that could have played their final game in a Chiefs uniform. Among those players are Dwayne Bowe, Brandon Carr and Kyle Orton.
While most fans would like to see the first two names listed return to KC next year, Kyle Orton's name causes the most conversation. Orton plays the most vital position in the game, and he is a polished starter. The only reason Orton is a Chief, however, is because incumbent starter Matt Cassel suffered a hand injury half-way through the season. If the Chiefs were to retain Orton, a quarterback controversy would be the only result.
In baseball, having too many quality pitchers is a good problem to have. In football, however, there is no rotation. In football, your starting quarterback should be the one you have the most confidence in to deliver in a big situation. And if there is doubt in the starter, than the backup becomes the most popular player on the team. When fans are calling for the backup, and in some cases, buying billboards in an attempt to get the head coaches attention, then the situation is not ideal. As the saying goes, if you have two QBs, you really don't have one at all.
As the Chiefs brass and players have been making their media rounds since the end of the season, the question of Kyle Orton vs. Matt Cassel has repeatedly come up. And as ambiguous as the answers are, they lead me to believe that Orton will not be coming back next season. Check them out after the jump.
January 1st - Kyle Orton in Post Game Conference
"I thank the Chiefs for giving me an opportunity to get a fresh start, I really enjoyed playing with those guys in the locker room, I think they have a solid group of character guys and I appreciate them letting me come in and be a part of the team and finish the season on a strong note.
"I'm going to take a step away, I know they have a great quarterback in Matt Cassel. Matt's a good friend, he's a great teammate, he's a great quarterback so, as I look at it, it's his team and we'll see what happens."
January 9th - Romeo Crennel at introductory Press Conference
“Kyle did a tremendous job for us and I’m probably not sitting here if Kyle hadn’t done the job that he did and I’m very appreciative of that. I’m also appreciative of that fact that he is an unrestricted free agent and we have to go through the process you know. I would be unfair to him not to say that I appreciated what he did for me. And I’m not going to say that I didn’t appreciate it but the situation is the situation and we have two quarterbacks under contract, he’s not under contract so we’ll play it out, we’ll see what happens.
“Matt Cassel has won here. I mean we’ve been to a playoff with Matt Cassel so I don’t think that Matt Cassel has fallen off of the wagon overnight. I think he’s a good talent, a good quarterback and he’s taken us to a playoff so I anticipate that he can do it again.”
January 12th - Romeo Crennel on 810 Sports Radio
"Kyle did a very good job for us in those three games and no one who watched those three [games] can dispute that. Now he will have a choice in his free agency of choosing where he wants to go and so what we are going to do is evaluate personnel here over the next couple of weeks and prioritize our list of free agents who we would like to pursue and then go from there.
"Right now I am not able to tell you if Kyle...where Kyle is on that list. I can't tell you whether he is at the top of the list. I am not saying he is at the bottom of the list, but he will be on that list somewhere and then we'll make a decision after we compile the list."
"Right now I am not able to tell you if Kyle...where Kyle is on that list. I can't tell you whether he is at the top of the list. I am not saying he is at the bottom of the list, but he will be on that list somewhere and then we'll make a decision after we compile the list."
While I would love for the Chiefs to bring back both Orton and Cassel so they could have an epic training camp battle for the ages (sarcasm), I don't think that will be a possibility. I wouldn't be able to blame Scott Pioli for not doing his best to retain Orton, after-all, a QB controversy on a team hoping for an upcoming playoff run is not a good way to start. I also won't blame Orton for not wanting to be a part of that; he's been on the losing end of a QB controversy already and probably wouldn't want to do it again.
But there is a chance.
On Decmeber 30th, before the end of the season, Michael Lombardi from NFL Network wrote that the Chiefs would "make an effort to sign him this offseason and bring him back for another year to compete with starter Matt Cassel." While he also noted that a competition for the starting job might in KC might be Orton's best chance, I tend to disagree with that. Teams like the Browns, Seahawks, and Redskins could make him an offer. And let's not forget about the two other teams that put a claim on him, the Cowboys and the Bears. He probably wouldn't start either place, but I bet they would pay him more as a backup than the Chiefs would. But if Lombardi truly referenced a source, then this is encouraging.
And this past week, Matt Cassel sat down with Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star for an article I found very encouraging for Orton's return, even if he didn't mean it to be. He said that he never felt 'entitled' to be the Chiefs starter, and that he'd always welcome competition. “If you play this position, there’s always competition. You’re competing against yourself, you’re competing against somebody else. Whoever they bring in, you always compete and you always have to go out and try to get better."
Of course, what else is the struggling quarterback supposed to say? Nevertheless, since Cassel became involved in the dialogue, he needs to be measured by it as well. While I'm not entirely sure if Cassel meant what he was saying (he ended the discussion about Orton with "I don’t have any clue whether he’s coming back or not. I think he’s a great quarterback. He did a great job for us. I wish him nothing but success wherever he goes." Kind of sounds like Cassel doesn't want Orton back, at least to me), he is right; every player should have to compete for his position.
And Oakland is a prime example of that. After firing HC Hue Jackson after one season, new GM Reggie McKenzie said this in his press conference about the very expensive quarterback: "Carson Palmer will not be immune to a good player ... pushing him." Palmer, given a full offseason, is better than any QB the Chiefs have on their roster, and yet he will be evaluated after competition is brought in. I've never encouraged looking at Oakland as a way to do things, but maybe a QB battle is what the Chiefs need for 2012 (besides a franchise quarterback).
I know that Cassel and Orton are very comparable players, and neither have been really outstanding, but wouldn't you rather have two average quarterbacks on your team than just one average quarterback? We saw what happened when Cassel went down and Tyler Palko came in.
But I, as well as everyone with the Chiefs organization, have pointed out this past week that Kyle Orton is an unrestricted free agent and he can choose where he wants to go. If he thinks KC is his best place to start, then we can welcome him back. If he gets offers from other teams that need him more than we do, then thanks for the memories. And like I said earlier, I think the Chiefs will most likely move on from Orton and give the job right back to the incumbent Cassel. Quarterback controversies are usually far from good scenarios, and I don't think Crennel wants to get into one of those again: "If he was under contract and we had both of them here I think it would be more of a dilemma for me than it is right now."
But there is a chance.
On Decmeber 30th, before the end of the season, Michael Lombardi from NFL Network wrote that the Chiefs would "make an effort to sign him this offseason and bring him back for another year to compete with starter Matt Cassel." While he also noted that a competition for the starting job might in KC might be Orton's best chance, I tend to disagree with that. Teams like the Browns, Seahawks, and Redskins could make him an offer. And let's not forget about the two other teams that put a claim on him, the Cowboys and the Bears. He probably wouldn't start either place, but I bet they would pay him more as a backup than the Chiefs would. But if Lombardi truly referenced a source, then this is encouraging.
And this past week, Matt Cassel sat down with Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star for an article I found very encouraging for Orton's return, even if he didn't mean it to be. He said that he never felt 'entitled' to be the Chiefs starter, and that he'd always welcome competition. “If you play this position, there’s always competition. You’re competing against yourself, you’re competing against somebody else. Whoever they bring in, you always compete and you always have to go out and try to get better."
Of course, what else is the struggling quarterback supposed to say? Nevertheless, since Cassel became involved in the dialogue, he needs to be measured by it as well. While I'm not entirely sure if Cassel meant what he was saying (he ended the discussion about Orton with "I don’t have any clue whether he’s coming back or not. I think he’s a great quarterback. He did a great job for us. I wish him nothing but success wherever he goes." Kind of sounds like Cassel doesn't want Orton back, at least to me), he is right; every player should have to compete for his position.
And Oakland is a prime example of that. After firing HC Hue Jackson after one season, new GM Reggie McKenzie said this in his press conference about the very expensive quarterback: "Carson Palmer will not be immune to a good player ... pushing him." Palmer, given a full offseason, is better than any QB the Chiefs have on their roster, and yet he will be evaluated after competition is brought in. I've never encouraged looking at Oakland as a way to do things, but maybe a QB battle is what the Chiefs need for 2012 (besides a franchise quarterback).
I know that Cassel and Orton are very comparable players, and neither have been really outstanding, but wouldn't you rather have two average quarterbacks on your team than just one average quarterback? We saw what happened when Cassel went down and Tyler Palko came in.
But I, as well as everyone with the Chiefs organization, have pointed out this past week that Kyle Orton is an unrestricted free agent and he can choose where he wants to go. If he thinks KC is his best place to start, then we can welcome him back. If he gets offers from other teams that need him more than we do, then thanks for the memories. And like I said earlier, I think the Chiefs will most likely move on from Orton and give the job right back to the incumbent Cassel. Quarterback controversies are usually far from good scenarios, and I don't think Crennel wants to get into one of those again: "If he was under contract and we had both of them here I think it would be more of a dilemma for me than it is right now."
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