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Browns: Not looking to trade Quinn

By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer 5 hours, 56 minutes ago

BEREA, Ohio (AP)—The only trade Brady Quinn is seeking is to swap neighborhoods.

Benched as Cleveland’s starting quarterback 10 quarters into the season, Quinn said Wednesday that he has not asked Browns coach Eric Mangini to trade him and that he only put his suburban home up for sale because he wants to downsize and shorten his commute.

Although the Oct. 20 trading deadline is looming, Mangini said he has no interest in dealing Quinn.

“We’re not looking to move Brady Quinn,” Mangini said Wednesday. “We get calls all the time that we listen to, but Brady is a Cleveland Brown and it’s not anything we’re looking to do.”

Mangini has shown a willingness to trade high-profile players. He has already dealt Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards, who like Quinn, are former first-round draft picks.

Quinn beat out Derek Anderson to be Cleveland’s starter but lost his job following lopsided losses to Minnesota and Denver and a poor first-half performance against Baltimore. Although he’s frustrated at being back on the sideline, Quinn said he will not demand a trade.

“That’s not my nature to do something like that,” Quinn said. “I’ve got a contract here with the Browns and I intend to play that out.”

What about in the offseason?

“That’s a long time away,” he said. “There’s a lot of football ahead of us. There’s no reason to look past this week for us right now.”

As for putting his five-bedroom, five-bathroom house in Avon Lake on the market, Quinn said the timing is just coincidence. He’s not anticipating a trade.

“No, that indicates a house is for sale,” Quinn said. “I appreciate the free advertising. Hopefully I’ll get a bid. It’s a private issue that doesn’t have anything to do with what we’re here for—preparing for Pittsburgh. I’m a guy who doesn’t want to drive 30 minutes to the facility every day. I’m a bachelor who lives in a house that has maybe too much upkeep for me.”

Quinn has been a model teammate since his demotion. He has not publicly complained and remains confident he will one day be back in the starting lineup — in Cleveland or elsewhere.

“Obviously I want to play and I think I’m good enough to play in this league,” he said. “But I’m here right now to do the best I can for this team. … Unfortunately, I have to hold a clipboard again this year. I really feel like in order for me to continue to get better is to continue to play and get on the field. I’m going to keep working, keep on practicing hard and hopefully the opportunity will come.”

Without enough snaps, Quinn stands to take a financial hit as jarring as any from a linebacker.

If he does not play in 70 percent of Cleveland’s offensive snaps this season, Quinn will not hit incentives that would earn him $11 million.

Quinn insists he isn’t worried about something he can’t control.

“That’s money I never had,” said Quinn, due to make $2.1 million next season. “How can you lose money you don’t have? Those sorts of things, it’s not about that for me. I want to try to better and see what I can do in this league. And it just would be nice to be back out on the field and continue to try and get better that way.”

Quinn spent his rookie year waiting his turn and did not make his pro debut until the season finale. He didn’t make his first start until Week 9 last season and played in just three games before being sidelined with a thumb injury. This was supposed to be his breakout season, but it lasted less than three games.

Barring an injury to Anderson, Quinn will spend another year running the scout team in practice and cheering for his teammates on game day.

Quinn figured he’d be further along. It’s been a long, twisting road.

“It’s been a little bit unique,” he said, smiling. “But then again there’s been a lot of turnover as far as the coaches, the front office and with the people who drafted me. So at this point in time all you can do is to continue to work hard and try to get better.”

If Quinn was going to get a second chance this season, last week in Buffalo would have seemed to be the ideal time.

Anderson completed just 2 of 17 passes for 23 yards in a 6-3 win over the Bills. He was plagued by dropped passes, but with Cleveland’s offense struggling, Mangini didn’t turn to Quinn in relief.

Quinn said there was never a point where he thought he would replace Anderson.

“It wasn’t necessarily a thought in my head,” he said. “When that time comes, I think coach will give me some sort of indication and there wasn’t any.”

Quinn has had a few weeks to reflect on what went wrong in his first 2 1/2 games, starts against teams with a combined 13-2 record. He’s also had a chance to consider his tenure with the Browns, the team he grew up cheering for and the one that has pushed him aside.

He hasn’t given up hope.

“You want to make things work out for the best,” he said. “But sometimes that’s not necessarily how things work.”