Browns keep their QB: GM Savage decides it’s too risky to let Anderson walk, signs him to multiyear deal
Scott Petrak | The Chronicle-Telegram
BEREA — The three-year, $24 million deal that the Browns and quarterback Derek Anderson agreed to Friday was all about security.
General manager Phil Savage couldn’t stand the thought of letting one of his two young passers go, which would leave the team susceptible to one injury that could sabotage all the progress made in 2007.
So he abandoned the thought of getting first- and third-round draft picks for letting Anderson sign with another team, and sweetened his final offer.
“I didn’t want to put our organization at that risk,” Savage said. “I explained it to our owner. Our coaches understand that.
“We’re in a good spot. We’ve got two good quarterbacks.”
Anderson had his own security issues.
He couldn’t walk away from the $14.5 million guaranteed — he made $435,000 last season — and the comfort of working with Jamal Lewis, Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow and a solid offensive line.
“I chose to be there with those guys, because that’s where I want to be and be with my teammates,” Anderson said on a conference call. “In my heart, I knew I was going to get back.”
With the big money also comes the assurance that he enters 2008 as the clear-cut starter ahead of Brady Quinn, first-round draft pick and fan favorite.
“When you sign a contract like we did with Derek, I don’t think there’s going to be ‘open competition,’” Savage said Friday night in a news conference. “We’ll go in with Derek as the lead horse. If Brady goes out there and plays that well and D.A.’s not playing well, we have the wherewithal to put the relief pitcher in.”
Savage said the situation might’ve been different if Anderson had returned on the one-year, $2.562 million tender the Browns used to protect themselves if he left through restricted free agency.
But as Thursday night turned into Friday morning, the negotiations reached a breakthrough — even as Anderson got his first real exposure to the open market.
“It was a long, long night,” Savage said. “They fought hard. We fought hard.”
Anderson said he was never worried that a deal wouldn’t get done.
“I told my agents, ‘This is where I want to be. Let’s do the right things to get that taken care of,’” Anderson said.
Anderson’s representatives originally wanted a six-year deal that would fall in line with the $67.5 million contract signed by Dallas’ Tony Romo. Anderson’s 29 touchdowns, 3,787 yards, 10 wins, 14 sacks allowed and Pro Bowl trip made him a candidate for that kind of deal, but Quinn’s presence and the draft-day move to get him last April made six years a deal-breaker for the Browns.
“To keep ourselves in the most optimal position with both quarterbacks was to do a shorter-term deal with D.A.,” Savage said.
Having two quality quarterbacks under the age of 25 is consistently referred to as a strength by Savage. But a vocal number of fans would rather see Quinn start — even though he threw just eight passes as a rookie — and Savage has been asked repeatedly how long the pair can coexist.
“I don’t know how many times I have to say it, but as I said from the end of the season, our intention for 2008 was to keep both quarterbacks,” Savage said. “We’re going to have both quarterbacks as long as we can keep ’em, then we’re going to pick one of them.
“The Cleveland Browns are going to be quarterbacked by one or the other for a long time.”
The idea of acquiring first- and third-round picks appealed to many fans and super-scout Savage. But he thought the teams that might make a move for Anderson are drafting too late.
“Honestly, I wasn’t interested in late ones and late threes,” he said. “I’m interested in keeping the player, keeping our offense in tact with Chud (coordinator Rob Chudzinski) at the controls and bringing our playmakers back, having them at full strength, keeping the offensive line in place and seeing how far this particularly group of players can go.
“We’ll maintain some continuity for once in the history of the new Browns.”
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Scott Petrak | The Chronicle-Telegram March 1st, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 11% |
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