Decision Time for Anderson

While waiting on Derek Anderson to either accept or reject the Browns’ offer, the team has tendered him at $2.562 million, meaning if Anderson declines the deal and no team makes an attempt to sign him, the Browns will be able to utilize his services for one more year. Regarding the contract, GM Phil Savage said:

"I feel like we’ve put a really strong offer out there, and if he opts to do something else, that’s his prerogative. He’s earned that right."

The rest of this article explains how “excited” Savage is at the possibility of getting back into the first round of the NFL Draft. In fact, there is little sense of worry coming from the Browns on this one. I’ve said it all along, and many other people have caught on: the plan from the start was to lowball Anderson out of Cleveland – make it seem like the Browns did everything they could to keep him in town. In reality, the Browns were already gearing up for 2008 with Brady Quinn, who Savage said has “all the ingredients to be successful. The Browns are in pretty good shape.”

If Anderson truly wanted to stay in town, the deal would already be done and I would have little else to write about except for the budding quarterback controversy. But no team, especially the Browns, wants the focus to be on a quarterback competition (remember the debacle that was Charlie Frye v.s. Anderson?). I still think it’s doubtful that Anderson will get a deal close to $68 million (thus making the list of potential suitors smaller), but he can expect a huge pay raise with more than three years on the deal.

After reading the comments on the article, it would seem that Cleveland is certainly eager to usher in the Brady Quinn era. The thought of a brand-new, shiny franchise quarterback in addition to a first and third-round pick is too good to pass up.

“It’s a win-win situation,” as Savage would say.