Cowboys’ anticipate Kyle Orton returning, playing in 2014
By Mike Dyce
The Dallas Cowboys leadership has said it before, and they’re saying it again, they expect back-up quarterback Kyle Orton to be around during the 2014 season. The only reason the Cowboys need to keep addressing this issue is because Orton is absent for voluntary organized team activities.
“We do anticipate Kyle being a part of what we’re doing this year,” Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said, via the Dallas Morning News.
The Cowboys signed former Cleveland Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden and will prepare him as the back up if Orton doesn’t show up for the team’s mandatory June mini-camp.
“Well, that’s the plan,” quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson said. “That’s one of the reasons we signed him. We’re still hopeful that Kyle will be here, but if he doesn’t, we feel really good about Brandon, especially since he’s going through our off-season program.”
It isn’t doing Orton or the Cowboys any favor by remaining absent though, especially when they’ll be learning a new offense under coordinator Scott Linehan, the team’s third in as many years. It also earned Orton some stern words from Cowboys quarterback legend Roger Staubach.
“I don’t know what’s going on there,” Staubach said, via the Dallas Morning News. “If Kyle wants to be with the Cowboys, he should be there. Anything can happen. Tony could get hurt again, and in the last game of the year Kyle did a good job. He should be looking at, ‘Hey, I might need to step in there if Tony’s back gets hurt early in the year.’ You need a backup quarterback who you can count on.”
“So when you go to training camp you know your teammates really well,” Staubach added. “I don’t know what Kyle is thinking. Maybe he’s going to retire. We have to keep Tony Romo healthy all year.”