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80 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED It's easy to understand why Orton left the game. A former fifth-round draft pick of Chicago in 2005, he could never find a permanent — and welcoming — NFL home. The moments when he was the man were fleeting, even during periods of personal success. It happened in Year 1. After being thrown in as the starter due to Rex Grossman's injury, he led the Bears into the playoffs, helping to establish his reputation as a winner. But Chicago felt Grossman was its future and went back to him as soon as he was healthy. A few years later, Orton was traded to Denver, in a QB swap that brought Jay Cutler to the Windy City. As the Broncos' starter that first season, in 2009, Orton got off to a great start, as he led Denver to a 6-0 record and was an early MVP candidate. But the Bron- cos quickly faded, with fans growing restless about their quarterback; and two years later, Orton was replaced by Tim Tebow, then traded to Kansas City. Despite late-season success with the Chiefs, including a win at Denver to end the season, Orton was shortly on the move again, signing a deal to back up Tony Romo in Dallas. But Orton wasn't happy with the Cow- boys, so much so that he was willing to retire rather than play the final season of his three-year deal. But the release allowed him the opportunity for one last starting chance for the Bills. Joe Tiller, Purdue's coach from 1997- 2008, thinks Orton orchestrated the end of his career well. "He had his mind made up (about what he wanted) well in advance," said Tiller, who reunited with Orton at the June 10 NFF dinner. "As a matter of fact, I talked to him when he was pursuing his outright release from the Cowboys and I got a feeling at that time that there was something in the works in the background. He wouldn't say anything, wouldn't tip his hand. He's smart, he doesn't need to tell me those things, nor should he. "And obviously it worked out with Buffalo and he had a great season and that's the way we would all like to end our career, on an uptick. More power to him." Orton says he learned a lot during his NFL journey, mostly about persevering when forces aligned to make that difficult. Like in Denver, when fans started putting up billboards in support of Tebow, support- ing the unproven quarterback over the vet- eran in 2011. That couldn't have been easy to han- dle, yet Orton stayed away from public displays of satisfaction. Nor was it easy years before when he guided the Bears to the playoffs, only to be replaced as the starter by Grossman in the postseason. And Orton never found great comfort in being Romo's backup in Dallas. "There were times along the way that I thought I couldn't make it any more but I persevered," said Orton, who threw for more than 18,000 yards and 100 touchdowns during his 10 sea- sons. "Any time you make it 10 years in the league, you don't sneak by anybody. But played on a lot of teams with a lot of great teammates. I think they held me in high regard as a teammate and really that's the kind of goal I was looking for." At some point, Orton will move on to a second career, although he's not let on about what that could be. Last spring, he graduated from Purdue, earning his degree in history. It fulfilled a promise he had made to his mother years ago, when he skipped his final semester at Purdue to pursue the NFL. The degree is good to have, he says, although he's unlikely to need it for a résumé. Maybe his next job will be in a political seat. Since his days at Purdue, Orton's shown political leanings, often debat- ing with Tiller. "He's a bright guy, a phenome- nal reader," Tiller said. "He can go through one history book, that takes me three months to read, he can read it in three days or less. The guy has a lot of knowledge and information about his country and how our politi- cal system works. It wouldn't surprise me to see him in that arena." j