Very little has been made of backup quarterback Jon Kitna's back injury sustained sometime before the Dallas Cowboys game against the Washington Redskins. Most astute observers know that Kitna's inability to throw downfield forced Jason Garrett to adjust his gameplan last season; when Kitna took over for starter Tony Romo. He did, however, guide the Cowboys to a 5-5 record under his guidance and that contribution must be appreciated.
Although reports earlier in the week stated that the team is not worried about this being a career-ending injury for Kitna, the Cowboys move to claim Orton (who was awarded to the Kansas City Chiefs) raises an eyebrow or two. How badly hurt is Kitna, after all? How little faith do to the Cowboys have in the new second string man, Stephen McGee, a fourth-year pro out of Texas A&M? McGee showed he wasn't bum-level in replacement duty at the end of 2010 and during this year's preseason. Dallas however, must have some concerns moving forward if Romo should incur an injury that takes him out of the lineup for any length of time.
Then again, it could have just been gamesmanship to prevent the Chicago Bears from signing Orton. Chicago (7-3) lost starter Jay Cutler to a thumb injury last week and he's expected to miss at least the rest of the regular season.