6. Jeff Garcia, 2004 (10 starts, 1 season): Here’s your one instance of post-Browns success in the expansion era. Garcia was a high-profile free agent signing by Butch Davis and the Browns following a successful, but drama-filled stint with the 49ers, but his tenure was marked with ups-and-downs and, finally, injuries. Garcia was released just two days after Savage took over as the team’s GM – his first roster move –and wound up signing with the Lions. After going 1-4 as a starter, with the only win coming over the Browns in Cleveland, Garcia wound up bouncing around to four more teams, including two separate stints with the Eagles. In his first stint, Garcia took over for injured starter Donovan McNabb and led them to a 5-1 record in his six starts in 2006 and also won a playoff game. He parlayed that into a rebirth as an NFL starter, signing with Tampa Bay and making the Pro Bowl in 2007, throwing for 2,440 yards, 13 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in 13 starts and one more playoff start. After an up-and-down season in 2008, Garcia was cut in training camp by the Raiders, played in one game with the Eagles in 2009, was with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League in 2010 and ended his career with the Texans in 2011, never appearing in a regular season game. He threw for 38 touchdowns and 18 interceptions and played in three postseason games and one Pro Bowl after leaving the Browns, by far the best of anyone else.
7. Luke McCown, 2004 (4 starts, 1 season): McCown was thrust into action to end the 2004 season after injuries to both Garcia and Holcomb and struggled mightily, losing all four games with just four touchdowns and seven interceptions. He was traded to Tampa Bay for a sixth-round pick during the 2005 NFL Draft and wound up carving out a nice career as a backup quarterback. During two seasons in Tampa, three in Jacksonville, one in Atlanta and three in New Orleans, McCown only started six more games, including one this season when Drew Brees was injured. He’s thrown for 5 touchdowns and 8 interceptions during those nine seasons away from Cleveland. He was the opening day starter for Jacksonville in 2011, but he only made two starts before getting benched.
8. Trent Dilfer, 2005 (11 starts, 1 season): Dilfer, who won a Super Bowl with the Ravens four seasons prior while Savage was in the front office, was brought on to be the veteran starter for first-year coach Romeo Crennel at the tender age of 33. But, after getting benched for rookie Charlie Frye late in the season and not getting along with first-year offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon, Dilfer was granted a trade to the 49ers in the offseason. He was dealt for Ken Dorsey and a seventh-round pick. Dilfer wound up mentoring first-overall pick Alex Smith for two seasons, succeeding him as the starter for six games in 2007. But, after suffering a concussion late in the season, Dilfer retired at the age of 35. He threw 7 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in two years after leaving the Browns, only winning one start. He has since become an ardent Browns critic as an ESPN NFL commentator.
9. Charlie Frye, 2005-07 (14 starts, 3 seasons): Frye was the first rookie quarterback drafted by the Browns since Couch that really captured the fans’ fancy, mostly due to his growing up in nearby Willard and playing for nearby Akron. He was largely mediocre during his first true season as the Browns starter in 2006 and wound up getting traded to Seattle for a sixth-round pick after just one half of football in the season opener against the Steelers. Frye only started one game for the Seahawks in two seasons, mostly serving as a backup behind Matt Hasselbeck and Seneca Wallace, before signing with the Raiders as free agent. In 2009, he started three games for the Raiders, including one against the Browns at Browns Stadium, in which he threw for over 300 yards, but also threw three interceptions with no touchdowns in a Browns’ victory. Frye spent 2010 on injured reserve after a wrist injury and quietly retired following the season. He wound up with four starts, one win, 3 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in three seasons after leaving Cleveland.
10. Derek Anderson, 2006-09 (34 starts, 4 seasons): Anderson has the second-most starts and consecutive seasons with the Browns since 1999 and has the team’s lone Pro Bowl berth at the position (2007). But as quickly as his career emerged, the bottom quickly dropped out in 2008. Fans turned on him as his interceptions outnumbered his touchdowns and, upon his outright release by new team president Mike Holmgren, vowed that he would “roll” the Browns whenever he started against them. As fate would have it, we’re still waiting for that first start. He signed with Arizona in 2010 and wound up beating out former first-rounder Matt Leinart as the team’s starting quarterback, but only went 2-7 in nine starts, throwing 7 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. After a memorable meltdown in a postgame press conference following a Monday Night loss, Anderson’s days in the desert were numbered, and he wound up signing with Carolina as the backup to No. 1-overal pick Cam Newton. Anderson has been with the Panthers since, only starting two games in five seasons – both in the 2014 season against the Bucs due to injuries suffered by Newton. He’s thrown 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in six seasons since leaving Cleveland and is still the Panthers’ primary clipboard holder and Newton chest-bumper this season, a 32-year-old backup.
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