Somewhat quietly, the Purdue Boilermakers football program has become something of an NFL quarterback factory over the last decade or so. Drew Brees is one of the most prolific passers in the league, Kyle Orton had a breakout season for a moribund Broncos team last season and Curtis Painter, um, well … so Kyle Orton is one of the hot names on the NFL trade market right now. Thanks to the Broncos love of Eric Crouch … er … Tim Tebow, Orton is expendable, and it looks like he’s headed to the Miami Dolphins. Miami is a good landing spot for Orton, because the Dolphins don’t have many QB options, and Orton is still young enough, at 28, to build on his progress.
Truth be told, it has been a guilty hope of mine for awhile that Orton would come to Indianapolis to back up Peyton Manning. Now that he’s in demand, though, it looks like Orton is going to get a relatively unfettered shot at his own starting job on a long-term basis. Good for him. Too bad the Colts got the wrong Boilermaker!