Derek Anderson Derek Matthew Anderson ( born June 15 , 1983 in Scappoose , Oregon ) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft , and played for the Cleveland Browns before joining the Cardinals . He played college football at Oregon State . Early years . Anderson grew up in Scappoose , Oregon , where he led the Scappoose Indians to one of their record three consecutive state football championships in Class 3A football . He excelled at basketball and was named state player of the year in both football and basketball his senior year . He participated in the first ever U . S . Army All - American Bowl game in 2000 . Anderson grew up in Scappoose , Oregon , where he led the Scappoose Indians to one of their record three consecutive state football championships in Class 3A football . He excelled at basketball and was named state player of the year in both football and basketball his senior year . He participated in the first ever U . S . Army All - American Bowl game in 2000 . He was a childhood friend and schoolmate of Playboy Playmate Sara Jean Underwood . College career . A Beaver fan growing up , he wanted to play for Oregon State most of his life and his decision to play for the university was celebrated by fans . At 6 ' 6 " Anderson was not the prototypical quarterback . In fact , many believed he would play basketball in college instead of football . Still , he was recruited nationally for football and his dominating high school performance as quarterback led him to stay with football . Sophomore ( 2002 ) . At the start of his sophomore year ( 2002 ) , Anderson was thrust into the starting role as QB and handed the reins of a rapidly improving program . His early performances showed inexperience and poor passing . This led to an early streak of losses for the team . Despite the losses , Oregon State had no serious competition for quarterback in 2002 and his job was secure . His early entry into the starting role came on the heels of Oregon State ' s most successful period to date . Capped by a Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame , the team went 11 - 1 in 2000 and ranked 4th in the nation under head coach Dennis Erickson . Expectations at OSU were exceptionally high in 2002 and the monumental task ahead would be daunting to any young quarterback . Despite these challenges , Anderson helped the Beavers record an 8 - 5 season . His work was good enough to give them entry into the 2002 Insight Bowl . However , the young team was no match for a , then , well - seasoned University of Pittsburgh . Anderson ' s team lost 38 - 13 and coach Erickson left for a National Football League head coaching position with the San Francisco 49ers . Junior ( 2003 ) . Pressures on the entire team to keep the program on - track were only compounded by the sudden change in head coaching . The return of previous head coach Mike Riley from the NFL meant learning an entirely new system . With help from teammate and star running back Steven Jackson , Anderson again rose to the occasion and played a leading role in propelling the team to an 8 - 5 record . This time ending the 2003 season on a 55 - 14 Las Vegas Bowl win over a , then , up - and - coming New Mexico program . Senior ( 2004 ) . By the 2004 season , Anderson successfully integrated footwork into his repertoire and surprised many defenses with his new found ability to escape the tackle and even run the ball for touchdowns . Although the team ' s 7 - 5 performance was far from spectacular , Anderson became nationally recognized as a dangerous offensive weapon who could strike long - gains at - will . Plus , he was now a legitimate running threat at quarterback . The Beavers went without Steven Jackson through the 2004 season ( Jackson was drafted into the NFL at the end of the 2003 season ) . Even without the star running back , Anderson willed his team back into the Insight Bowl where they again faced Notre Dame ( led by future Browns teammate Brady Quinn ) . The Beavers never trailed in the game and easily defeated the Irish 38 - 21 . Anderson unleashed 359 yards and four touchdown passes , with no interceptions . Anderson is the fourth player in Pac - 10 history to throw for over 4 , 000 yards in a single season , setting an Oregon State Beavers football record at 4 , 058 yards in the 2003 season . He ranks second in the Pac - 10 for career touchdown passes , at 79 ( also an Oregon State record ) . He is the 6th person to ever throw for 10 , 000 yards in a career in the Pac - 10 , and holds the Oregon State record for career passing yards at 11 , 249 . Professional career . Baltimore Ravens . Anderson was selected out of Oregon State University by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft ( 213th overall ) , but never played for them and was waived on September 20 , 2005 . The next day he was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns . Cleveland Browns . 2005 . Anderson joined the Browns in 2005 . He did not see any action , being third on the depth chart behind Trent Dilfer and Charlie Frye . 2006 . Anderson served as Frye ' s backup for the Cleveland Browns in the 2006 season . He made his first appearance in an NFL regular season game against the Denver Broncos at Cleveland Browns Stadium , October 22 , 2006 , taking one snap after Frye was briefly shaken up . His second NFL appearance was more noteworthy . After Frye injured his wrist during the first half of Cleveland ' s December 3 game against the Kansas City Chiefs , Anderson played the entire second half . He threw his first two NFL touchdown passes in that game , connecting with tight end Steve Heiden twice in the fourth quarter . Anderson scrambled for 33 yards in overtime , moving the ball from the Kansas City 45 - yard line to the 12 - yard line , after which the Browns were in field goal range . Anderson ' s play was instrumental in leading the Browns back from a 28 – 14 deficit to a 31 – 28 overtime victory . 2007 . Although some reports said he outplayed incumbent starter Frye and rookie Brady Quinn in mini camp , Anderson was not as productive in the pre - season games and Frye was named the starter for the 2007 season . Head Coach Romeo Crennel earlier said that the two were so close in effectiveness that he would use a coin toss to decide which QB would start the first preseason game . Anderson would take over for Frye in the 2007 opener after Frye was ineffective in the first quarter against the arch rival Pittsburgh Steelers . The game was Frye ' s last in a Browns uniform , as he was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a sixth round draft pick two days later . Named the starting quarterback by Crennel for Week 2 , Anderson threw for 328 yards and five touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals in his first start . His passer rating for the game was 121 . 0 as the Browns defeated the Bengals 51 - 45 , solidifying Anderson ' s role . In the same game , Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer threw for six touchdown passes . It was only the third time in NFL history that two quarterbacks had thrown at least five touchdown passes in the same game . On September 30 , Anderson beat the team that had originally drafted him , the Baltimore Ravens . He threw for two touchdowns and 204 yards , completing 10 of 18 pass attempts with just one interception . The Browns would later beat the Ravens again , making it the first time since 2001 that the Browns were able to sweep the Ravens . In Week 13 of the 2007 season the Browns faced the Arizona Cardinals . Down 27 – 21 late in the 4th , the Browns drove down to the Cardinals 34 - yard line . On fourth down , Anderson threw a pass to the end zone which was caught by Kellen Winslow . The pass was ruled out of bounds and held up through review . Anderson argued that Winslow was forced out , but the force - out rule was not reviewable . The game was notable for the referee ' s missed call of a Braylon Edwards catch and tackle by contact , but mistakenly ruled a touchdown as Edwards got up and ran to the endzone . Another close game that could have put the Browns in the playoffs was December 23 against the Cincinnati Bengals , in which the Browns went scoreless in the first half , but held the Bengals scoreless in the second half . Anderson had four interceptions , two of them in consecutive plays , and one more in the Cincy end zone as Cleveland appeared to be heading for a scoring drive . The Browns had two turnover - on - downs possession . Anderson threw two touchdown passes to Braylon Edwards , Cleveland ' s only scores in the game . The game ended in a 19 – 14 loss . Anderson led the Browns to a 10 - 6 overall record , 10 - 5 in games in which he started . Anderson finished with 29 touchdowns to 19 interceptions . During the week of December 12 – 18 , Anderson was named as a first alternate for the 2008 Pro Bowl at quarterback . On February 4 , Tom Brady of the New England Patriots announced he would not be attending the Pro Bowl due to injury . This paved the way for Anderson to make his first appearance in the Pro Bowl . 2008 . On February 29 , 2008 , the first day of free agency , after speculation that Anderson would leave Cleveland to pursue a bigger contract , Anderson agreed to a three - year contract to stay with the Browns through the 2010 season . With fans split between the proven Anderson and the locally - homegrown Quinn ( an image of Quinn wearing a Bernie Kosar jersey as a kid was shown at the 2007 NFL Draft ) , many were speculating if the Browns were in a similar position the San Diego Chargers were in a few years back with Drew Brees and their first - round pick Philip Rivers . The 2008 season was a tough one for the Browns and Anderson . In the preseason he suffered a concussion when he was sacked by Osi Umenyiora of the New York Giants . This would prevent him from practicing for the majority of the preseason . In the regular season opener against the Dallas Cowboys , he was 11 of 24 for 110 yards and 1 touchdown . On November 3 , after starting out the season the Browns announced that Anderson would be benched in favor of Quinn . On November 23 , during a game against the Houston Texans , Quinn was benched by Crennel in favor of Anderson . On November 25 , Quinn was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a broken finger and Anderson was renamed the starting quarterback . On November 30 , Anderson was injured during a game versus the Indianapolis Colts . It was later revealed to be a MCL injury , which put Anderson out for the season . The Browns lost the last 4 games to finish with a 4 - 12 record . 2009 . The Browns ' poor season in 2008 resulted in the firing of Crennel and the installation of former New York Jets coach Eric Mangini as the new head coach . Throughout the 2009 training and preseason Anderson competed against Quinn for the starting quarterback position . Quinn ended up winning the job , but after 10 quarters of poor play by the Browns , he was benched . Anderson took over in the second half of Game 3 against the Baltimore Ravens . Though the Browns would still end up losing the game , Mangini decided to name Anderson the starter for the next game . His first start of the 2009 season was against the Cincinnati Bengals , the same team that he faced after replacing Frye in 2007 . Anderson was 26 of 48 for 269 yards with one touchdown , and was able to the finally produce some offensive momentum for the Browns . However , Cleveland lost 23 - 20 in the final seconds of overtime . In the ensuing games , Anderson ' s quarterback rating deteriorated to the NFL ' s worst . On November 11 , 2009 , coach Mangini named Brady Quinn the starting quarterback for the Browns ' next game on November 16 , against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football . Derek did not see any action on the field again until Week 16 , when he was named starter after Quinn was put on Injured Reserve . Anderson and the Browns won their last two games of the season , ending with a record of 5 - 11 . Despite finishing strong , Anderson was released by the Browns on March 9 , 2010 . Upon leaving Cleveland , Anderson told " The News - Herald " , " The fans are ruthless and don ' t deserve a winner . I will never forget getting cheered when I was injured . I know at times I wasn ' t great . I hope and pray I ' m playing when my team comes to town and ( we ) roll them . " He later apologized for his remarks . Arizona Cardinals . On March 17 , 2010 Anderson signed a two - year deal worth $ 7 . 25 million with the Arizona Cardinals . After Kurt Warner retired and Matt Leinart was released , Anderson became the starting quarterback for the Cardinals . After struggling in his first few games , Anderson was benched in favor of rookie Max Hall on October 6 . Anderson was named the starting quarterback again for the November 7 game against the Minnesota Vikings after Hall struggled . However in week 14 he was benched again after suffering a concussion and was replaced with Hall , whose season ended with a separated shoulder later in the game . Rookie John Skelton finished the game and succeeded Anderson as the Cardinals ' starting quarterback . Anderson also created a notable soundbite after being caught on national TV laughing with a fellow teammate while he and his team were playing poorly . His subsequent anger toward the reporter who asked why he was laughing made nationwide news and was featured on several sports shows .