September 27th, 2011 He was one of the last cuts as NFL teams pared their rosters down to 53 players. On September 27, 2011, the Colts fired Orlovsky. They replaced him with former Ravens quarterback and current Baltimore radio broadcaster Joe Flacco.
Orlovsky had been the Ravens' third quarterback this season, behind veteran Jason Campbell and rookie Justin Fuente. However, he lost his job after throwing four interceptions in a 31-30 loss to the Bengals on October 25th. At that point, he had completed 3 of 8 passes for 20 yards and an interception.
He finished the season with 247 yards passing along with six touchdowns and three interceptions. The Colts chose not to re-sign him at the end of the year. He joined the Ravens as a free agent but was released in March 2012 when they signed Kyle Boller to be their new quarterback.
Orlovsky began his career with the Atlanta Falcons as a backup in 2001 before being traded to the Ravens in 2004 where he has served as a starter ever since. He is the longest-tenured starting quarterback in the Ravens' history who has never played in another game. In 11 seasons, he has thrown for over 10,000 yards while completing 57 percent of his passes.
On December 22, 2011, with less than two minutes remaining in the game, Orlovsky led the Colts on a 12-play, 78-yard drive in a comeback victory over the 10-4 Houston Texans. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Orlovsky to a two-year deal on March 15, 2012. He replaced Josh Freeman at quarterback for the final few games of the 2011 season and the first three games of 2012.
Orlovsky was born on January 4, 1977 in San Diego, California. He graduated from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. Orlovsky played college football at UC Davis where he was a four-year letterwinner and two-time First Team All-American. The Aggies finished his career with 5,046 passing yards, 42 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
After graduating from UC Davis, Orlovsky entered the 2001 NFL Draft. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round (87th overall pick) of the 2001 NFL Draft. Orlovsky started eight games in 2009 before being sidelined with an ankle injury. He completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,719 yards with 13 touchdowns against five interceptions.
Orlovsky is married to the former Ashley Schurr. They have two children together: a son named Otis and a daughter named Olive. Orlovsky has some family connections to play football.
On October 12, 2008, Orlovsky made his first career NFL start in a 12-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He completed 12 of 21 throws for 150 yards and one score with no interceptions. He also carried four times for 15 yards.
Orlovsky was drafted by the Lions in 2007 after playing college football at Georgia Southern. As a Gator, he started 30 games at quarterback and led his team to a 14-16 record over that time span. The Lions selected him with their third pick (seventh overall) in the 2007 NFL Draft. At Georgia Southern, he was part of a triple-option offense that featured running back Jason Barnes. Orlovsky has said he wants to be known as a player who can get outside the pocket and make plays with his arm or his legs.
He played only two seasons at Georgia Southern before entering the NFL. During that time, the Eagles went 17-3 when he played. They won the Sun Belt Conference title in 2006 and lost in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship game that year. That season, Orlovsky set school records for most passing touchdowns (28) and total offense (7,901 yards).
After going 3-36 as a starter for the Lions, it is safe to say that Orlovsky has failed to live up to expectations.
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