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VOLUME 25, ISSUE 6 79 BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com K yle Orton looks only forward now. With his 10-year NFL career over — he called it quits following last season, his only year with the Bills — he's ready to move on to the next stage of his life. Immediately, that means being a husband to wife Bridget and stay-at- home father to a three-and-a-half-year old daughter with another child on the way. Later, though, it could expand to mean more, perhaps a political career. "I'm real happy with the way my career went and the way my career ended," he said in early June, while on campus for the NFF Honors Dinner, "and with where I'm at for the next 20, 30, 40 years of my life." Orton left the game on his own terms, displaying a characteristic that's been a hallmark since his playing days at Purdue from 2001-04. His exit was the end of a plan set in motion a year before, when he forced his way out of Dallas — perhaps retirement was an option then, as well — before signing with Buffalo, where he had a greater chance to start, just before the begin- ning of the season. And in Week 5, he was elevated to the starting job, helping the Bills win seven of their last 12 games and to finish with a 9-7 record, their best since 2004. But soon afterward, although he had an option on his contract, Orton decided the time was right. In late December, he quietly retired from the game that was so central to his life for so many years. "For the last couple years, I've had some things on the horizon that kept me more interested than football did," said Orton, who resides with his fami- ly in Baton Rouge, La. "When I'd wake up in the morning, I decided I kind of wanted to do those things more than go to work, so I thought I'd try to fulfill those roles and be a good dad along the way." Orton Content TWIN CITY DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP RAM PRESENTS NFL BOILERS Denver Broncos Orton's career had highs and lows, per- haps never more so than in Denver, where he started hot then was replaced by Tim Tebow. Sandra Dukes At the NFF Honors Dinner June 10, Kyle Orton, with Joe Tiller and Darrell Hazell, received the Drew Brees Mental Attitude Award.