Friday, February 29, 2008

DA - As Good as Gone?


According to several media sources, Derek Anderson and his agents have rejected the Browns three year, $20 million deal, which could all but signal the end of the DA era as QB of the Browns. They tendered him the one year offer, which means any team that signs him must give the Browns a first and third round pick. Dig deeper and you can see why Anderson seemingly is out the door and the Brady Quinn era is about to begin.

Anderson was a sixth round pick making next to nothing. The Browns drafted their QB of the future last year and traded a first round pick to get him. Anderson wants to maximize the amount of money he can get, especially since this is a QB starved league and his lackluster second half doesn't seem to faze other teams. Anderson's agents must know they can get more than the three for $20 million from the Browns, otherwise why would he reject $10 million guaranteed?

GM Phil Savage on what he is thinking: "I think that if another team were to get involved, they'd try to make it extremely difficult for us to match it," said Savage, adding that he doubted Anderson would play out the one-year tender.

Savage also made it clear that the Browns would accept nothing less than the first- and third-round picks. Last year, the Houston Texans traded two second-rounders for quarterback Matt Schaub, despite the fact he originally received the first- and third-round tender.

"We've told them we wouldn't do it," said Savage. "We value the player."


We think what the Browns are doing is smart. You have no first-round pick this year. The Browns would love to jump back in to the first round to get an impact defensive player. Plus, something to consider: The Browns have apparently traded this year's second round pick to the Packers for their franchised player, D-Lineman Corey Williams. That would leave the Browns without a first day pick if they were keeping Anderson.

See, it's all coming together isn't it? The Browns could get back a first and third round pick if a team signs Anderson, and they have their QB of the future, Brady Quinn, with one year under his belt learning the Rob Chudzinski system, ready to go.

This is a win/win situation for the Browns in our opinion.

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