Kyle Orton Returning To Bears A Possibility?

Bears GM Phil Emery didn’t rule out the idea of possibly bringing back veteran QB Kyle Orton at some point in time, depending on how things go with their current backup quarterback situation.

“I have great respect for Kyle,” Emery said in a radio interview, via ESPN.com. “When I was in Kansas City, we brought him in. That’s the famous claim the Bears figured they would get [in 2011]. We claimed him. He came in. He started against the Bears; got hurt first or second play. At the time in Kansas City, we won the game. The next week, he starts against Green Bay, an undefeated Green Bay team [which] had the longest winning streak in football at that point. [He] beat them; beat them in Kansas City. Great leadership skills, guys really like playing for him, big arm. So the skill set is there. But as far as where he’s going in his career… that we don’t know.”

The Cowboys ultimately release Orton a few weeks again after a long standoff. Jerry Jones later told reporters that although they cut him, Orton would like to play another year and doesn’t plan on retiring.

“[There’s] a lot of rumors in terms of him retiring,” Emery said. “I certainly know that if he had an interest in playing, that would be out in the league. We’re extremely excited about Jay [Cutler], and we’re extremely excited about the competition we have for the backups. If we see a player at quarterback or any other position that can help us, we’ll certainly take a look.”

The Bears have Jordan Palmer and Jimmy Clausen battling it out for the Bears No. 2 quarterback. They also drafted David Fales in the sixth round, but there is always a chance they could look to improve upon their current options, depending on how they play in the preseason and the remainder of training camp.

“There’s an interest on our end on looking at any player that can help this team, and we continue to do that,” Emery said. “We want to keep looking at players that can really have a legitimate chance to make our team. If there’s a quarterback, a wideout, a defensive person — a DB that could help us — we’re certainly gonna look at him.”

In 2013, Orton stepped in for Tony Romo after he suffered a season-ending back injury. Orton threw for 358 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in a loss to the Eagles.