Quinn won’t be idle as QB

The Browns’ backup
quarterback doesn’t plan on carrying a clipboard again.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Browns quarterback Brady Quinn said he still expects to compete for the starting job, despite Derek Anderson’s new three-year, $24 million contract.

“My whole goal is preparing myself and getting ready to try to take over the starting job and lead this team,” Quinn said Saturday during an appearance at an auto show.

Anderson agreed to his new deal Friday, a move that took him off the restricted free-agent market.

General manager Phil Savage has said the deal, which includes $14.5 million guaranteed, makes Anderson the clear-cut starter entering training camp. Anderson threw 29 TD passes last season and led the Browns to 10 wins.

Quinn said he understands the situation and even applauded Anderson’s signing, but doesn’t plan on carrying a clipboard again.

He said his mind-set is “just competing and try to take this team to the playoffs, something we weren’t able to do last year.”

The Browns traded their first-round pick in 2008 for the chance to draft Quinn No. 22 last April.

He looked good in preseason after holding out, then spent the final 15 weeks of the regular season as Anderson’s backup and didn’t throw a pass until the finale, when he went 3-for-8 for 45 yards.

Coach Romeo Crennel will open camp with Anderson as the starter, but also maintained his stance that competition breeds success.

“Both of those guys are going to compete and then we’ll see who gives us the best chance,” he said Saturday at Browns headquarters in Berea.

“We’ve always done it that way and that’s what we’re going to do,” Crennel said. “Both guys will make each other better. Both guys will help the Browns win and that’s what we want.”

Elsewhere around the NFL Sunday, the New Orleans Saints were busy, signing free agent defensive end Bobby McCray and re-signing running back Aaron Stecker. The agent for Patriots free agent Randall Gay told The Associated Press his client has agreed to a four-year contract with New Orleans.

McCray spent the past four seasons with Jacksonville. Stecker rushed for a career-high 448 yards last season. Stecker originally signed with the Saints in 2004 after four years with Tampa Bay.

The Falcons signed two free agents Sunday: running back Michael Turner and tight end Ben Hartsock.