The Cowboys have surprisingly relented their game of chicken with Kyle Orton, opting to release the backup quarterback.

Throughout the offseason, Orton made clear that he had no intention of reporting to the team, skipping OTAs and offseason workouts.

He reportedly prefers to retire.

Of course, this is the second time in three years that Kyle has escaped a team, as John Elway humanely freed him from Tebowmania in 2011.

Had Orton made the first move by announcing his retirement, he may have been required to return $3M of his $5M signing bonus from 2012.

But that likely would have required a lengthy grievance process, and Orton reportedly would have come to camp to avoid any potential fines.

In total, Dallas paid Kyle a healthy $7.25M over two seasons to back up Tony Romo.

Waiving Orton will save them $3.25M in cash this year, leaving $3.3825M in dead money spread between their 2014 and 2015 caps.

That leaves Brandon Weeden as Romo's understudy, assuming he can beat out former Denver clipboard holder Caleb Hanie.