By, Mario Miller – Inspin Insider Extraordinaire, 11/24/2011

So, Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton is going to the Kansas City Chiefs. He was released by Denver on Tuesday after being benched for six weeks and becoming inessential when the team chose to go with Tim Tebow as their starter.

What this means for Kyle Orton

"Just wanted everybody to hear it from me first," Orton said. "I am happy to be a part of the Kansas City Chiefs. I got claimed today. I am excited about the last few days and I am looking forward to getting to know my teammates with the Chiefs."

Orton becomes a free agent next year, so the move gives him an opportunity to play and increase his value. All in all, he’s a pretty good player. The former Purdue star was a fourth round draft pick by Chicago where he won 10 of 15 as a rookie, started 15 games in 2008 and passed for 2,972 yards with 18 TD’s and 10 interceptions.

Oddly enough, Chicago was also in the running to nab Orton now that Jay Cutler, for whom Orton was traded to the Broncos in the first place, is out for the regular season with a broken thumb.

What this means for the Kansas City Chiefs

Chief’s starting quarterback Matt Cassel suffered a season ending hand injury November 13 when they played against the Broncos in a 17-10 loss at Arrowhead Stadium.

This put inexperienced Tyler Palko on the spot and sadly, he went 24 of 37 for 230 yards and three interceptions in his first NFL start when he lost to the Patriots 34-3 on Monday night. My guess is that the Chiefs believe that Palko might fold under the pressure.

"I know playing that position, there's no greater test, and getting thrown in to the fire on Monday night and, oh, by the way, six days later playing Pittsburgh, it doesn't get any harder," said coach Todd Haley of Palko.

It’s doubtful that Kyle Orton will be ready for the game against Pittsburgh on Sunday, but clearly the Chiefs expect that he’ll be able to pull the team back from a three game losing streak that’s threatening to take them out of the race for the AFC West.

What this means for the Denver Broncos

The Broncos are taking a calculated risk. The decision to waive Orton came partly as a financial decision, to take nearly $2.6 million off the books. But, with the final game of the regular season being against the Chiefs, this ghost could come back to haunt them.

Worst case scenario, the Chiefs plus Orton beats them in the last game when a win would put them in the AFC playoffs for the first time since 2005.

The Broncos have put their faith on Tim Tebow, and Tebow, so it seems, has answered. He’s gone 4-1 and helped Denver get back in contention for the AFC West.

But although Tebow is winning games, the Broncos' brass may not be all that convinced of him being the long term solution for quarterback. 

So far, Denver's gamble is paying off; hopefully, it will continue that way but this remains to be seen on January 1st at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

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