From David Haugh of The Chicago Tribune:

Same goes for quarterback Kyle Orton, who raised the standard by which the Bears will measure him with an outstanding first half of the season. His deal expires in 2009.Has Orton's progress been enough for the Bears to begin negotiations on a contract extension? "I don't want to say time's an ally, but we want to take our time and we do have time," Angelo said. "We want to see a body of work. What we've seen so far has been very, very good, and we're very optimistic, not only in terms of his play but his durability."