Per multiple reports - ESPN's James Walker had the scoop first - the Buffalo Bills have agreed to terms with veteran Kyle Orton to be their new backup quarterback. Tim Graham of The Buffalo News says it's a one-year deal, with a built-in second-year option that Orton can exercise in 2015.
Orton, who will turn 32 this November, was released by the Dallas Cowboys back on July 15. Per Graham, the Bills have been attempting to sign him ever since thanks to the rough offseason turned in by Thad Lewis, but reports as recent as August 4 held that Orton was considering retirement from football.
A fourth-round pick out of Purdue in 2005, Orton has spent time with the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, and Cowboys in his 10-year career. He has a career 35-35 record as a starter, completing 58.5 percent of his passes for 15,019 yards with 83 touchdowns and 59 interceptions in that time frame.
E.J. Manuel is the Bills' starting quarterback, but Orton is the first pro teammate of Manuel's with the CV to conceivably push him for the starting job at some point down the line, especially if Manuel does not improve in his second season. For now, however, the Bills have made the significant, veteran move at quarterback that fans have been clamoring for for months, and Doug Whaley and Doug Marrone are likely resting a bit easier this evening knowing that, pending a physical, they finally have a backup quarterback that has a proven degree of reliability.