The Broncos have acquired 25-year old QB Brady Quinn from the Browns in exchange for 24-year old FB/RB Peyton Hillis, a 6th round pick in 2011 and a conditional late round pick in 2012.  Quinn played in 10 games for the Browns last season in which he completed 136 of 256 passes (53.1%) for 1,339 yards with 8 TD passes and 7 INTs (67.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 20 times for 98 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Quinn has now played in 14 games in his NFL career in which he has completed 184 of 353 passes (52.1%) for 1,902 yards with 10 TD passes and 9 INTs (66.8 QB Rating).  Quinn has also carried the ball 25 times for 119 yards (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Quinn will likely be the Broncos’ 2nd string QB in 2010 but he might be able to challenge Kyle Orton for the starting job down the road.  This was a clear upgrade for the Broncos as Quinn will have much better players to throw to than he had in Cleveland.

24-year old Peyton Hillis was the Broncos’ leading rusher in 2008.  He played in 14 games for the Broncos last season in which he carried the ball 13 times for 54 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Hillis also caught 4 passes for 19 yards (4.8 avg) and he also returned 6 kickoffs for 134 yards (22.3 avg).  Hillis played in 26 games in his career with the Broncos in which he has carried the ball 81 times for 397 yards (4.9 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He has also caught 18 passes for 198 yards (11.0 avg) with 1 TD grab and he has also returned 10 kickoffs for 199 yards (19.9 avg).  Hillis is a tough guy who served the Broncos in a lot of roles but they should have no problem replacing him. 

The Broncos have acquired 31-year old C/G Ross Hochstein from the Patriots for a 7th round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.  Hochstein played in 15 games (2 starts) for the Patriots last season.  He has now played in 92 games (20 starts) in his 8 year NFL career.  This will probably turn out to be a good trade for both teams.

The Broncos have acquired 27-year old DT LeKevin Smith and a 7th round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft from the Patriots for a fifth round pick in the 2010 Draft.  Smith played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Patriots last season and he had 14 tackles.  He has now played three seasons in the NFL appearing in 41 games (0 starts) and making 18 tackles.  Despite his size (6′3″, 308 pounds), Smith is not much of a football player.  This trade just shows how desperate the Broncos are along the D-Line.

The Denver Broncos have traded QB Jay Cutler and a 5th round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft to the Chicago Bears for QB Kyle Orton, a first and third round pick in 2009 and a first round pick in 2010.  Orton will replace Cutler as the Broncos’ starting QB in 2009.  He played in 15 games for the Bears last season completing 272 of 465 passes (58.5%) for 2,972 yards with 18 TD passes and 12 interceptions (79.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 24 times for 49 yards (2.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Orton is more of a game manager type of QB so look for the Broncos to run more in 2009 than they did last season.  Orton has now played in 33 games in his NFL career and he has completed 505 of 913 passes (55.3%) for 5,319 yards with 30 TD passes and 27 interceptions (71.1 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 53 times for 92 yards (1.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  The Broncos did get three nice picks for Cutler but they might be sorry they made this trade down the road if he improves with the Bears.

25-year old Jay Cutler played in all 16 games for the Broncos last season and he completed 384 for 616 passes (62.3%) for 4,526 yards with 25 TD passes and 18 interceptions (86.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 57 times for 200 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs last season.  The Broncos really handled the situation with Jay Cutler poorly.  He played in 37 games in his three year career with the Broncos completing 762 of 1,220 passes (62.5%) for 5,437 yards with 54 TD passes and 37 interceptions (87.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 113 times for 423 yards (3.7 ypc0 with 3 TD runs for the Broncos.

The Broncos have traded WR Keary Colbert to the desperate Seahawks for a late round draft pick in 2009.  Colbert played in both games for the Broncos this season but he didn’t catch any passes.  Colbert wasn’t likely to get to play much due to the depth at WR of the Broncos so getting something for him was a very, very smart move.