As Florio mentioned this morning, the Cowboys are fortunate to have a backup quarterback as competent as Kyle Orton waiting in the wings considering the back injury that could keep Tony Romo out this week.
And Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thinks the General Manager who authorized such purchase deserves a hearty pat on the back for his foresight.
“We paid a lot of money several years ago for just this very circumstance,” Jones said on his radio show on KRLD-FM, via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Should we be in a situation where a game or a possible intermittent time when Tony couldn’t play, we get the very best we can, and that’s why we signed Kyle Orton for over $10 million a few years ago, just for this very occasion. Kyle has a very strong arm, he’s very experienced. If required, he’ll be able to step in and do as good under the circumstances as you could expect.”
The Cowboys signed Orton to a three-year, $10.5 million deal, with a $5 million signing bonus, prior to last season.
He’s been limited to mop-up duty with the Cowboys, but was 35-34 as a starter prior to that.
“I want to emphasize that this back up quarterback was a starter,” Jones said, in case you forgot how wise he was. “It was unique that he would come here when he had real starting possibilities. We are going to get the benefit from him should he play. . . .
“Again, we’re in as good a shape under the circumstances that you could possibly be in and I have every reason to think that, if needed, Kyle Orton can step out there and do a good job for us. We had planned on this very event. We have been very fortunate with Romo on his injury situation. He hasn’t played as much as I would have thought when I agreed to give him over $10 million three years ago. Because of how important that position is you just have to anticipate to some degree what happens if you lose Tony Romo. In this case we have done it. We did it. I’m proud that we have done it. We are ready to utilize it this weekend.”
Then again, he also spent a lot of money for a guy who was once replaced by Tim Tebow. I guess it all depends on your perspective.