The Denver Broncos seem dead set on keeping their name at the top of every sportscast for the remainder of the season. This week with the buzz around Tebow slowing down as he continued his winning ways via mediocre play the Broncos decided to throw some fuel on the fire by releasing their once starting quarterback Kyle Orton. In a move that makes almost no sense for the team, the Broncos have been the talk of the league as everyone tries to guess where Kyle Orton will end up.
The team’s official explanation for releasing Kyle Orton was so that he could end up on another NFL roster and showcase his talents. That’s all fine and dandy if it were true, but it just doesn’t seem logical at this point. The only teams that would seem to have something to gain by acquiring Orton this late in the season are teams that remain on the Broncos schedule later this year. In a league where teams seek every competitive edge they can find, from players sleeping in hyperbaric chambers to coaches recording practice sessions of other teams, it makes very little sense that the Broncos would allow their most polished passer and someone with intimate knowledge of the team to join a competitor this late in the season.
The only logical explanation for the release of Kyle Orton at this point of the season is sabotage, but by whom? One suspect and the most logical would of course be Kyle Orton himself. Perhaps Orton was so spurned by his demotion and the immediate ascension of the team to AFC West contender he was determined to see Tebow fail by undermining him and dividing the locker room. As so, it would only be logical to remove the cancer and start the unification process. However with the Broncos winning and seeming more united than any time in the recent past that hardly seems a logical explanation.
The only other person in a position to sabotage the efforts of Tim Tebow is someone who has remained critical of him since the start. John Elway has been steadfast and vocal about his doubts that Tebow will be the Bronco’s quarterback of the future. Even after Tebow won 4 of his last 5 games in order lift the Broncos from the basement of the AFC into contention for the division title, Elway stated he is no closer to feeling his quarterback of the future is on their current roster. Elway has not been supportive of Tebow, but would he go so far as to set him up for failure by allowing Orton to take his knowledge of the Broncos to a potential foe?
One would think that such an idea is asinine. There is simply no way that the VP of football operations would set his own team up to fail. John Elway, from what can be gathered from his public statements, does not want Tebow to be the starter of this team in the future. As we have already seen this season, Tebow cannot remain on the roster as a backup. His popularity is too great and fan base too vast for any starting quarterback to withstand. If Tim Tebow isn’t the starter and can’t be the backup, then he must go. The problem becomes how do you release a fan favorite and someone that lead your team to the playoffs for the first time in 6 years? You make sure that he doesn’t get you to the playoffs.
Tim Tebow is a subject that will not go away anytime soon for the Denver Broncos. Release or trade him at the beginning of next season and the reputation of the current front office is still tied to Tebow’s success. So why move Orton now? Money, locker room dissention, a kind gesture in cruel game, or a strategic move, your guess is as good as mine. Be a Broncos Fan
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