Browns quarterback Derek Anderson missed his second straight practice with some type of injury on Saturday morning as the club began its final practice in a three-day, full-squad minicamp.
After going through loosening up drills with his teammates, Anderson, wearing a white wrap around his lower right leg, went with several other injured players, including tight end Steve Heiden and defensive back Hamza Abdullah, to a place at the other end of the practice fields complex that’s not visible to the media. He was jogging slightly and did not appear to be in any serious pain. He was laughing and joking with some other Browns as he trotted off.
Anderson suffered a season-ending knee injury late in the fourth quarter of a 10-6 home loss to the Indianapolis Colts and had corrective surgery. He said, though, a couple weeks ago that he was completely recovered from that, and had been taking part fully in p ractices until missing Friday afternoon’s session. He had worked Friday morning and did not appear to be hurt when that practice ended.
Anderson, of course, is involved in what should be a hotly-contested competition with Brady Quinn for the starting job. They had been sharing the repititions in practice, but with Anderson out, Quinn has been getting just about all of the work with the No. 1 offense. Free-agent pickup Brett Ratliff, who played last year with the New York Jets under new Browns head coach Eric Mangini, moved up to No. 2.
Mangini will certainly be asked about the situation when he addresses the media early Saturday afternoon. However, he does not usually give many – if any – details regarding injuries.