KYLE ORTAN

Kyle Orton or Kyle Raymond Orton was born on November 14, 1982. Kyle is an American football quarterback who is currently placed on waivers. Orton was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He used to play college football at Purdue. Kyle attended Southeast Polk High School in Runnells, Iowa, where he also participated in basketball, tennis, and track and many other. At the end of Kyle's high school career, he was the No. 2 ranked QB in the nation by Super Prep and No. 7 by Rivals.com. Kyle earned honorable mention all-state and first team all-conference his senior year, after completing 95 of 192 attempts, 1,366 yards with 12 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. Kyle Orton wore uniform No. 18 in honor of former Nebraska Cornhuskers' quarterback Brook Berringer who died in a plane crash in 1996.

 

Kyle Orton grew up as a Husker fan, but chose to attend a program with a stronger passing attack. He tied former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees' record for number of passing yards in a game, and is the only Purdue quarterback to start four consecutive bowl games. Orton started his career in the 2001, '02 and '04 Sun Bowl, and the 2003 Capital One Bowl. During Ortan's undergrad years at Purdue, he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. In 2004, he was the preseason third-team "All-American" quarterback, behind USC's Matt Leinart and Oklahoma's Jason White. He had a nice start to the season, having led Purdue to a 5-0 start with 18 touchdowns and no interceptions. He was a Heisman Trophy hopeful, until his fumble was run back for a touchdown late in the 4th quarter against the undefeated 12th ranked Wisconsin Badgers, giving the 5th ranked Purdue its first of several losses that season. Later that season, Ortan received multiple injuries, in consecutive games against Michigan and Northwestern forcing him to lose his starting position for a month. Brandon Kirsch then replaced Ortan during that time. Kyle Orton makes a cameo in NCAA Football 2006, where he says "EA Sports, it's in the game", along with Derek Anderson in the game's introduction. In 2005 NFL season, he rushed into the Bears starting lineup as a rookie after a preseason injury to starter Rex Grossman, and the poor play of Chad Hutchinson. Kyle Orton started 15 games of the season, however was replaced by Grossman after halftime during the Bears' Week 15 victory against the Atlanta Falcons. Following in the 2005 season, the Bears signed veteran Brian Griese as the team’s second string quarterback. Orton was now demoted; he became the Bears’ third-string quarterback, and did not see any playtime throughout the entire 2006 season. He made his first start in nearly two seasons on December 17, 2007 against the Minnesota Vikings. The Bears lost the game 20-13 and Orton finished with 22 completions on 38 attempts, 184 yards, and 1 interception. Orton improved in the final two games of the season, leading the Bears to two consecutive victories, passing for 294 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception. On February 25, 2008 the Orton and Bears agreed to a one-year contract extension running through the 2009 season. Orton then entered the 2011 season as the starting quarterback. Orton threw 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions as the starter, accumulating 979 yards. Orton has gone from Jay Cutler’s replacement to Tim Tebow’s backup in his unemployment line. Kyle Orton, the quarterback who was handed the Broncos’ starting job in training camp only to lose it to Tim Tebow after five games, has been waived 22nd Nov. It’s really going to be an interesting Thanksgiving in the Orton's house, as he'll wait to see where his NFL career will pick up — and whether he could find himself going from Tebow’s backup to a starter on a team that’s fighting for a spot in the playoffs.