McDaniels denies Orton trade rumors

Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels denied trade rumors swirling around starting quarterback Kyle Orton, who was reportedly available earlier this offseason.

The Broncos traded with the Baltimore Ravens to acquire quarterback Tim Tebow in the first round after acquiring Brady Quinn earlier this offseason, developments that have increased speculation about Orton's availability.

"Zero. There has not been one quarterback on our roster that has been discussed or would be discussed at this point in any trade talks or anything else for that matter," McDaniels said today in remarks distributed by the team. "We're going to let them compete and the best guy is going to play. That's it and that's how we feel about every position. The position is no different.

"Right now we have four guys and if we ever determine that it's time to move the roster down to three quarterbacks, then we'll do it at that time. Right now we have a lot of time on our hands and a lot of practice plays before we have to make a decision like that and we'll wait and see and let it play out. We've got a lot of guys out there competing hard."

Although Orton is the starter, he's hardly entrenched.

"The starter is the starter until somebody beats him out," McDaniels said. "Everybody earns their own role. The best player will play, that's all I'm saying. It doesn't matter if it's a defensive end, punter, quarterback, center -- if he's the best player, he's playing. Right now, he's the best player and he's in there first in the huddle, he knows the most.

"Does that mean it's a guarantee for this season? No, and he knows that, every quarterback knows that. Every player knows that if they aren't the best at that position, then we are going to play with the best 11 that we can put out there on the field, period."

The entire team seems to understand that Orton's time as the starter could be limited.

“He’s a great professional," cornerback Champ Bailey said. "He goes about his business in the right way and guys appreciate that. He had the job last year, he’s done well for us; until someone unseats him, he’s the one.”

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