Browns' QB Situation Still Murky Despite Anderson's Release

Derek Anderson finally got his wish to leave Cleveland.

The Browns cut him Tuesday, the day after they had acquired Seneca Wallace from Seattle.

It remains to be seen, though, if Anderson's departure gives Brady Quinn the starting spot for a team that remains decidedly uncertain at its most important position.

Quinn suffered through a miserable season in 2009, like just about every other Cleveland player. He has 14 career starts and had a 67.2 rating in '09, which ended when he was sidelined with a Lisfranc injury in his left foot.

There are rumblings in the league that Quinn is unhappy with the way things have gone in Cleveland and would welcome a change as well, but he has not stated anything publicly to that effect.

---

---

Quinn was hailed in Cleveland when he was drafted, but questions remain about his accuracy (career completion percentage: 52.1 percent) and now his durability. He finished the last two seasons on injured reserve with a broken finger and foot injury, respectively.

The Browns have been rumored to be actively trying to acquire a veteran quarterback, but the only one they've brought in is Wallace, a career backup.

Most league observers do not believe president Mike Holmgren and GM Tom Heckert will go into the season with Quinn and Wallace at quarterback. The pervading feeling is that Holmgren will bring in someone who can at least compete to start. Buttressing the belief are strong statements from Holmgren that he does not believe in quarterback competitions -- that a team needs to decide on a quarterback and nurture him.

Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb has been rumored to be a Browns target, but the Eagles have yet to show an inclination they will trade him. One NFL insider Tuesday said few in the league expect McNabb to leave the Eagles.

Anderson's contract had a lot to do with the Browns letting him go. With Wallace on the team, Anderson and the $2 million roster bonus he was due to earn on March 19 were expendable. Anderson also was due to earn $7.45 million this season -- way too much for a backup, even in an uncapped year.

In making the Wallace-Anderson moves, the Browns cut a guy who wanted out of, and saved some money in the process. But they did not clear up the team's direction at the position.

Anderson has wanted out of the city and away from the Browns since the city turned on him in a dismal 2008 season. He had come off a Pro Bowl (alternate) appearance in 2007, but when the Browns started slow, the fans turned on him and cried for Quinn.

When his season ended due to a knee injury, he quipped that he probably would not be back because the people in Cleveland did not like him. Anderson was a victim of the team's struggles as well as his own.

Even with the tumult, the Browns paid Anderson a $5 million roster bonus last March to keep him. He was involved in a quarterback competition with Quinn that did neither player any good.

Anderson's contract history in Cleveland is an intriguing look-back. He parlayed one good season (Anderson threw for 3,787 yards and 29 touchdowns in '07) into a three-year deal signed shortly after he became a restricted free agent in March of 2008 -- a deal that included a $7 million signing bonus.

Then-GM Phil Savage gave Anderson that deal despite having Quinn on the roster. At the time, Savage feared that Dallas was going to sign Anderson, give the Browns their late first-round and third-round picks as compensation and then trade Anderson to Miami for the first-overall pick in the draft.

Savage balked at the thought of another team using his quarterback in a trade and pushed to re-sign Anderson, rather than let him go as a restricted free agent.

Look for Anderson to garner interest around the league because of his physical abilities. He is 6-foot-6 and has the strong arm coaches love.

A team like Arizona, Minnesota or even Seattle might be interested, though his '09 struggles will seriously hamper his ability to cash in as a free agent. He leaves Cleveland having completed 44 percent of his passes in his final season, with the nearly inexplicable rating of 42.1.

But there are those in the league who believe that Anderson can be a starter if he regains his confidence.