Delhomme returns as Browns starter

Photo by: AP Photo/David Richard, File

Photo

This Oct. 10, 2010, file photo shows Cleveland Browns quarterback Jake Delhomme (17) going back to pass against the Atlanta Falcons during an NFL football game in Cleveland. With Colt McCoy out with a high left ankle sprain, Delhomme, who has been inactive for eight games because of a similar injury, will start Sunday against his former team, the Carolina Panthers.

Associated Press

BEREA

Jake Delhomme has spent much of his first season with Cleveland in a mentor’s role, dispensing sound advice to Browns rookie quarterback Colt McCoy.

This week, he handed down his walking boot.

“You scratch your head,” Delhomme said Wednesday about the rash of QB injuries. “It’s kind of crazy. We’re passing our boots in the quarterback room.”

The dreaded high ankle sprain has become as contagious as a common cold in Cleveland.

“It’s like a disease,” cracked Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas. “I don’t want to catch it.”

With McCoy sidelined this week and possibly for several more with a sprained left ankle, Delhomme, who has played in just two games because of a similar ankle ailment, will start Sunday as the Browns (3-7) host his former team, the Carolina Panthers (1-9).

In a season of redemptive games for Cleveland, it’s Delhomme’s turn to face old friends.

Delhomme hasn’t started since the opener on Sept. 12, when he rolled his right ankle in the first half against Tampa Bay. The 35-year-old hasn’t played since Oct. 10, when he came off the bench to replace Seneca Wallace, whose high ankle sprain came against Atlanta.

Delhomme has been inactive on eight other Sundays, forced to stand on the sideline in a baseball cap to cheer and coach his teammates.

Like everything else he does, Delhomme handled the down time with class. He grew close to McCoy, teaching the youngster some nuances of the NFL’s most demanding position. Delhomme never complained, never stopped working, never put himself about the team.

But he missed playing — badly. It’s no wonder he almost sprinted across the locker room to speak with reporters before practice.

“The last couple of weeks I’ve had some pep in my step,” Delhomme said. “It’s very unfortunate the way things have played out. You almost kind of pinch yourself and say, ‘Is this a dream?’ with all the quarterbacks kind of having some ankle issues. It’s just what we have to deal with.”

Browns coach Eric Mangini did not officially pronounce Delhomme his starter, but in a rare admission for one of the league’s most tightlipped coaches, Mangini did confirm that McCoy suffered the same injury that sidelined both Delhomme and Wallace for more than one month.

“It’s different than the ones they had, but it’s in that same category,” said Mangini, who did not name McCoy as one of the players he expected to practice this week.

Mangini remains optimistic McCoy won’t be out as long as his other two QBs, but with the way this season has gone, there’s no telling what could happen.

“It’s been strange,” Thomas said.

Delhomme believes McCoy will return sooner than he did.

“He’s young and hardheaded,” Delhomme said, grinning.

He appreciates the irony of returning in time to play against the Panthers, who waived Delhomme in March following his worst season as a starter. The parting was amicable, yet painful. Delhomme spent seven years with the Panthers, leading them to their one and only Super Bowl.

His memories of his days in Carolina blue are fond, and it’s just not in his nature to hold a grudge.

Vengeance? Not this time.

“When I left New Orleans for Carolina in 2003, I couldn’t wait for that first game against New Orleans,” he said. “I wasn’t given a chance to play down there. As any competitor, you want to have that ’I’ll show you’ attitude. This is totally different.

“We had a good run down there and I enjoyed every single minute. Last year it was difficult. But sometimes in relationships there’s break ups — ours needed to happen between myself and the Panthers.”