Kyle Orton Claimed by the Kansas City Chiefs, Pros and Cons

According to John Clayton the Kansas City Chiefs have claimed Kyle Orton off waivers. Now that Orton is out from the shadows of Tim Tebow and his bible, let’s see how he performs for the rest of the year. This not only impacts the Chiefs, but the Bears as well we were considering Orton to replace Jay Cutler who recently had surgery on his thumb. As with most things there are pros and cons to this deal as well.

Pros

For the Chiefs they get a proven quarterback, no more having to scrap the bottom of the barrel for a practice squad player to just get you by.

He’s played in the division. With 2 divisional games left, he already has a familiarity with your team and the teams you will face off with while fighting for your playoff life. And can help your defense against Tim Tebow and the Broncos.

He’ll be motivated. Nothing like having someone playing with a chip on their shoulder to show they’re old team that they should’ve never been let go. During the final 6 weeks he’ll play two teams that basically told him he wasn’t good enough. With this motivation he’ll have an added incentive to be on top of his game.

Cons

It’s already Tuesday and with a game on Sunday he may just bomb in his first game. Look at how well Carson Palmer did in his first start. Time is not on their side, he doesn’t have a whole lot of time to learn the playbook and generate a rapport with the offense.

Even with upgrading the qb position, the players around him still have to produce. After signing in K.C. in the offseason Steve Breaston hasn’t been as productive as need be and Dexter McCluster hasn’t had the same impact as he did a year ago. Overall the offense ranks 28^th. The supporting casts’ performance will be equally as important to the Chiefs success down the stretch.

The Chicago Bears who were rumored as one of the teams who were going to put in a claim for Orton.  Since they weren’t rewarded Orton they’ll turn to Caleb Hanie who almost guided them to victory when Jay Cutler injured his knee in the playoffs. As I see it, I don’t think picking up Orton now would help them. Mike Martz runs a complicated offense that is going to take more than cliff notes to pick up. Hanie having already been there should be able to nurse the team along until Cutler comes back.

This should make for an interesting AFC East division race as. The Chiefs are 4-6 and still play the Raiders and Broncos in week 16 and 17, which gives them some control over their own destiny.