Anderson becomes starter, but the Quinn watch begins

Cleveland’s rookie
quarterback won’t be holding a clipboard for long.

BEREA (AP) — Wearing a backpack, rookie Brady Quinn strolled into the locker room and quickly noticed the media cluster surrounding Derek Anderson, the Browns’ starting quarterback du jour.

Quinn stood patiently to the side and waited.

His turn’s coming soon enough.

Normalcy, as much as there is any more with the dysfunctional Browns, returned to the club Wednesday, one day after they made history by trading quarterback Charlie Frye to the Seattle Seahawks for a sixth-round draft pick.

Since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970, no quarterback had ever started an opener and been traded before Week 2.

At least the Browns are first in something.

Frye’s abrupt departure — he was benched in the first half of Sunday’s 34-7 loss to Pittsburgh — elevated Anderson, the loser in a summer-long competition with Frye, into a start Sunday against Cincinnati and pushed Quinn up the depth chart from No. 3 to No. 2.

Anderson’s promotion could be temporary.

Plans for Quinn

The Browns plan to start Quinn, already being tabbed as the franchise’s savior, at some point this season. It’s a matter of when, not if, and Anderson has a chance to control how long he’s the one running Cleveland’s offense.

“I know my job, and I know I’ve got to move the team,” said Anderson, who went 0-3 in three starts last season while filling in for an injured Frye. “I’ve got to have touchdowns, and I’ve got to control turnovers.”

And, he’s got to do it with Quinn breathing down his neck.

The former Notre Dame star is now just one snap away from taking over the Browns. General manager Phil Savage has warned that there will be “no turning back” once the club decides to play Quinn.

That time may have arrived.

The 22-year-old missed 16 practices during a training camp holdout, a stretch when the Browns installed much of their new offense. But Quinn, whose football intellect attracted him to the Browns, says he has caught up enough that he’s ready to play.

“I’m a confident guy. I’m competitive. I’m someone who wants to be in there, thinks he’s ready now,” Quinn said. “That decision’s not up to me. I just wait and I try to do my best and help out this team the best I can whenever my number’s called.”

Waiting in the wings

If Anderson lays an egg like he did during a disappointing preseason, Quinn could be summoned quickly.

The Browns would like to keep Quinn on the sidelines as long as possible, but their unspoken timetable of keeping him out until at least the bye week (Oct. 21) has been accelerated by Frye’s flop, an embarrassing eighth straight loss to the Steelers, and a need to win.

Playing Quinn so soon has its risks.

“Well, it can work out two ways,” tight end Kellen Winslow said. “It could work out like Ben Roethlisberger and it could work out like Ryan Leaf. So you have to be real smart about it. Carson Palmer sat out a year and he’s doing fine now. You have to be smart about the situation.”

How do you know when the time is right?

“I’m not a GM. I wish I was,” Winslow said, cracking a smile. “I don’t know. It’s gambling really, isn’t it?”

Anderson, taken by Baltimore in the sixth round in 2005, had his finest moments last season coming off the bench.

After Frye got hurt in a Dec. 3 home game against Kansas City, he rallied the Browns from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 31-28 overtime win.