Brady Quinn Will Start for Cleveland Browns Thursday Against Denver

According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, a Cleveland Browns spokesman has announced that Brady Quinn will start this Thursday against the Denver Broncos. Quinn will start over Derek Anderson, who struggled in the 4th quarter of yesterday’s loss to Baltimore and got little help from receiver Braylon Edwards, who dropped a key pass late in the game that was perfectly thrown by Anderson.

The 2008 season has been up and down for Derek Anderson, who signed a contract extension in the offseasons after his surprising emergence in 2007. The emergence of Anderson left Brady Quinn to sit on the bench and wait his turn, despite being a first round draft of the Browns before last season.

It appears that Quinn will have to wait no more. Browns fans in Cleveland (and at the Browns Backers in Dallas where I watched the game, and everywhere else on earth where Browns fans gather I’d imagine) chanted Brady! Brady! in the waning moments of yesterday’s game, and it now appears that their wishes will be granted.

(In related news, former Browns QB Trent Dilfer has chimed in and made it known that he is vehemently against the Browns’ decision to start Quinn.)

What do you think Browns fans:

Our very own Midnight Writer just sent me an email with a little more on this story:

Brady Quinn, a Cleveland Browns first round draft pick in 2006, will start as quarterback for the Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium in the Thursday Night Game against the Denver Broncos.

Quinn’s debut comes on the heels of an embarrassing Browns loss to one of its AFC rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, 37-27 before 70,000 unhappy, frustrated fans on Sunday.

ESPN affiliate WKNR 850 reported the news at 5 p.m., with the Browns confirming at 5:15 p.m., according to WKNR reporter and host of The Really Big Show, Tony Rizzo.

The plan according to Browns General Manager Phil Savage, was to let Quinn play back-up and learn the system while Anderson won the first-string QB job due to Anderson’s 10-5 record last year. (Beleagured QB Charlie Frye, now with Seattle played in the first game of 2007 in a lopsided loss to archrival, the Pittsburgh Steelers.)

But Anderson’s hot and cold inconsistent play and 3-5 record must have caused the Browns Savage and Crennel to change their minds.

Quinn received national attention for his play as quarterback for Notre Dame.

I’m at work so I can expound too much right now, except to say: why not? We’re 3-5, the season is quickly fading away, and we need to know what we have in Brady Quinn. We might as well give him a shot and see what he can do. If nothing else, it will give Browns fans a reason to be excited when they head to the stadium on Thursday night.

I’ll be back later with more on this story. In the meantime, stay tuned to the Cleveland Browns news page for the latest updates on the Browns and Brady Quinn.

[tags]brady quinn, cleveland browns, nfl, football[/tags]

---

---

---