Last week, it was reported that the Browns had offered quarterback Derek Anderson a three-year contract.  Our immediate reaction was that Anderson would balk at the duration of the deal.

Per James Walker of the Columbus Dispatch, the balking has begun.  Anderson wants a five-year deal.

The duration raises a variety of issues.  First, a three-year deal necessarily will entail less guaranteed money, since there are fewer seasons for proration.  Second, the absence of a long-term commitment to Anderson would create a greater sense of an ongoing competition etween himself and Brady Quinn.

Though the presence of two potential starting quarterbacks on an NFL roster might be regarded as a good problem to have, the situation can quickly become thorny.  Quinn won’t be happy if Anderson signs a deal that makes him the clear-cut starter well into the future, especially since Quinn needs to play in order to unlock the high-end incentives in his contract. 

Anderson, in turn, surely doesn’t want to have to look over his shoulder at Quinn.

The smart move for the Browns, in our view, would be to extend the highest restricted free agency tender to Anderson, gladly accept a first-round pick and a third-round pick if someone signs him to an offer sheet, entertain trade offers of less than a one and a three, keep him for 2008 if no offer sheet is signed or if no acceptable offer is made, and then trade him out from under the franchise tag in 2009.

Quinn is the quarterback of the future in Cleveland; why else would the Browns have vaulted back into the first round of the 2007 draft to get him?  Anderson’s success arguably was fueled by an improving offensive line, the high-end pass-catching tandem of Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, and an aging tailback who had more in the tank than anyone realized.  And Anderson failed to deliver with a playoff berth on the line in Cincinnati.

So why not get what they can for Anderson, and see what Quinn can do?  If Anderson gets extended for five years, Quinn might never get a chance to be the starter in Cleveland.