For his first news conference in his second season with the Broncos, Kyle Orton wore a red and white “NFL Players Association” cap.
Talk about a guy wearing two hats.
Orton will spend the 2010 season straddling the delicate balance of primary team leader as the Broncos’ starting quarterback, and union leader as the team’s player rep during a precarious period of labor uncertainty.
One leadership role is about uniting the players to win for coach Josh McDaniels, owner Pat Bowlen and Broncos’ management. The other has devolved into a collective bargaining conflict between NFL players and NFL management.
“I hope it’s not awkward,” Orton said after his media gathering Tuesday in which he made it clear the threat of a 2011 lockout is to be taken seriously. “I’m doing my job for the players. That’s what a teammate does. Anything I say or tell the players — I’m not lying to them. I’m just passing along the message. I certainly hope that doesn’t offend the front office. I’m not singling out the Broncos. I’m not singling out Mr. Bowlen by any means. Mr. Bowlen has been great to me. I’m just passing on the information as I get it.”
His are roles of dichotomy and similarity. As a union rep, Orton supported his fellow restricted free agent teammates — Elvis Dumervil, Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler — for opting not to attend the team’s voluntary conditioning program.
Instead of qualifying for the potential riches of unrestricted free agency, Dumervil, Marshall and Scheffler remain under team control because the owners’ decision to reopen the collective bargaining agreement pushed eligibility from four years of service time to six years.
“We didn’t do anything to cause this, the RFAs,” Orton said. “We went out and played as hard as we could to try and earn a contract. Somehow down the road, somebody opted out of something that caused us to get in this situation. Everybody was making a ton of money and somehow it wasn’t enough. It’s frustrating. As players I feel like we’ve got to be ready for a lockout because the steps that have been taken certainly looks like it’s leading to that.”
Yet, Orton has also demonstrated that his top priority is his role as team quarterback. As a fifth-year player, Orton is also missing out on the big money. Last season, Matt Cassel as a fourth-year player parlayed his one season as a starter into a $63 million contract with $28 million guaranteed through the leverage of unrestricted free agency.
Orton has one more year of service and two more years as a starter, yet because the reopened CBA reduced him to restricted free agency, he is staring at a one-year $2.621 million tender for this season.
Make no mistake, Orton’s not pleased with his situation. But he’s here participating in the Broncos’ offseason program, anyway, and not because the team acquired Brady Quinn two weeks ago.
“Him coming in hasn’t changed my work ethic, hasn’t changed my approach to the season,” Orton said. “I knew we had to get better as an offense and there’s no way we were going to do that if I’m not here.”
No matter what the cause, a leader, it seems, is a leader.
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
