Gregory Carlton Orton (born December 17, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver. He was signed by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

as an

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in 2009. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. He was also a member of the

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

Omaha Nighthawks The Omaha Nighthawks were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska, which played in the United Football League, joining the league as an expansion team in 2010. During their first season, the Nighthawks played their home gam ...

, Arizona Rattlers, and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Early life

Greg attended Wayne High School, where he was a standout

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

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member. As a member of the football team, he played for coach Jay Minton. He was ranked as the No. 19 wide receiver in nation by SuperPrep as well as the No. 53 wide receiver in nation and the No. 21 player in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

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. He was a first-team all-state selection as senior, when he caught 65 passes for 1,058 yards (16.3 average) and nine touchdowns. As a result, he was named to

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All-Regional team. He had 59 receptions for 782 yards (13.3 average) and 11 touchdowns his junior season, and was a two-time all-area and all-conference honoree. Orton committed to

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

on September 22, 2004.

College career

Orton chose

to continue his football career. He chose Purdue over Cincinnati, Iowa, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Virginia and Wisconsin. Orton saw his production steadily increase every season. He finished his Purdue career appearing in 50 games and recorded 203 receptions (fifth in school history) for 2,356 yards (sixth in school history) and 13 touchdowns.

Statistics

Source:

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

In 2009, Orton signed as an

with the

, after failing to have his name called in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

Spokane Shock

In 2010, Orton signed to play with the

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. He appeared in a few games making 18 receptions for 2 touchdowns, helping guide the Shock to an

ArenaBowl XXIII NAPA Auto Parts ArenaBowl XXIII was an arena football game between the National Conference champion, Spokane Shock and the American Conference champion, Tampa Bay Storm. The Spokane Shock won the game successfully defending ArenaCup X of the form ...

championship. In 2011, he saw his number increase dramatically, but the Shock season wasn't as productive. As a member of the Shock, Orton led the team in receptions (120), receiving yards (1,588), and touchdowns (37).

Omaha Nighthawks

In August 2011, he signed with the

of the United Football League.

Denver Broncos

On August 13, 2011, Orton signed with the

. He was later waived by the

prior to the 2011 season.

Arizona Rattlers

Orton signed with the Arizona Rattlers to play the 2012 season.

Denver Broncos (second stint)

Orton was re-signed by the Broncos, as a member of the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on November 29, 2012. He was waived/injured by the

on August 25, 2013. He reverted to injured reserve on August 27. He was released by the Broncos on October 7, 2013.

New England Patriots

Orton was signed by the

to their practice squad on December 31, 2013. The team released him on May 22, 2014, but re-signed him on July 23 of that year. Orton was waived/injured by the Patriots on July 27, 2014. He reverted to injured reserve on July 28. He won

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conf ...

with the Patriots after they defeated the defending champion

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

28–24. He became a free agent after the 2014 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orton, Greg 1986 births Living people American football wide receivers Purdue Boilermakers football players Cincinnati Bengals players Spokane Shock players Omaha Nighthawks players Denver Broncos players Arizona Rattlers players New England Patriots players Players of American football from Dayton, Ohio People from Huber Heights, Ohio