Derek Anderson life and biography

Derek Anderson is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League.

Pro Career:
Originally drafted by Baltimore in the sixth round (213th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft, was waived by the Ravens on 9/20/05. Claimed off waivers by Cleveland on 9/21/05 and signed a three-year contract with the Browns on 2/29/08. Released by the Browns on 3/9/10 and signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals on 3/17/10 as a free agent.

2009:
Played in eight games with seven starts in his final season with the Browns … served as the backup to Brady Quinn for the season’s first two games … saw first action of the season when he started the second half and hit on 11 of 19 passes for 92 yards with no TDs and three INTs @ Bal (9/27) … made first start of the season and connected on 26 of 48 passes for 269 yards with a TD and an INT vs. Cin (10/4); had a streak of nine straight completions at one point in the game; rushed for two yards on two attempts, including a one-yard scoring run in the third quarter on fourth-and-goal … completed 9 of 24 throws for 122 yards with a TD and an INT @ Pit (10/18); connected with Mohamed Massaquoi for a season-long 43-yard strike … served as the backup to Quinn vs. Bal (11/16); @ Det (11/22); @ Cin (11/29); vs. SD (12/6); vs. Pit (12/10); @ KC (12/20) … saw action vs. Oak (12/27) and completed 8 of 17 for 121 yards with a TD and no INTs; posted a season-best passer rating of 90.6 … in the season finale vs. Jax (1/3/10), was 7 of 11 for 86 yards with an INT.

2008:
Led the Browns to two fourth quarter wins while seeing action in 10 games, including nine starts … voted as an offensive team captain at the start of the season … started the first eight games of the season before being replaced by Brady Quinn; later re-entered the lineup before injury ended his season … led a late comeback as the Browns put up 17 fourth quarter points for a 20-12 road victory @ Cin (9/28); was 7 of 8 passing for 66 yards in the decisive fourth quarter … went 18-of-29 passing for a season-high 310 yards and two TD passes for a 121.3 QB rating in a 35-15 victory vs. NYG (10/13) … engineered a fourth quarter come-from-behind victory @ Jax (10/26) after connecting with Syndric Steptoe for a 53-yard completion down to the Jaguars 1-yard line; four plays later, a 20-yard FG opened a 20-17 lead ... compiled a career-best 132 consecutive pass attempts without an INT (from Cin. on 9/28 to Bal. on 11/2) … left game vs. Ind (11/30) late in the fourth quarter with a knee injury and was placed on Injured Reserve on 12/2.

2007:
Set career-highs in all offensive categories and was named to the AFC Pro Bowl roster, the first Browns QB to earn that honor since Bernie Kosar (1987) … replaced starter Charlie Frye in the second quarter of the opener and went on to lead the Browns to a 10-5 record as a starter, the most wins by the franchise since 1994 … set a franchise record with seven consecutive home victories … tied for second in club history with 29 TD passes and also ranked fifth in attempts (527) and passing yards (3,787), and sixth in completions (298) ... named AFC Offensive Player of the Week and also received NFL FedEx Air Player of the Week honors after completing 20 of 33 passes for 328 yards, a career-high five TDs and one INT for a 121.0 QB rating vs. Cin (9/16); led the offense to 554 net yards of offense, the third-highest total in franchise history and 51 points, tying for fourth highest point total in franchise history; his 328 yards passing, along with Jamal Lewis’ 216 yards rushing and Braylon Edwards’ 146 yards and Kellen Winslow’s 100 yards receiving, marked the first time in club history to have a QB with 300 yards passing, a 100-yard rusher and two 100-yard receivers in the same contest … scored his first career rushing TD @ Oak (9/23) on a 1-yard run ... completed 10 of 18 passes for 204 yards and connected with Edwards on a career-long 78-yard TD vs. Bal (9/30) ... posted the second-best QB rating of his career (142.5) after completing 18 of 25 passes for 245 yards and three TDs vs. Mia (10/14); connected with Edwards for all three TDs ... for the second straight game, completed 18 of 25 passes and finished with a career-high 143.0 QB rating after throwing for 248 yards and three TDs @ StL (10/28) … led the Browns to a 33-30 OT win vs. Sea (11/4), while establishing career-highs in passing yards (364), completions (29) and attempts (48); led a 14-play, 89-yard fourth quarter come-from-behind drive, capped by Lewis’ 1-yard TD run, as Anderson was 8 of 11 for 92 yards on the drive, and also completed the two-point conversion to Joe Jurevicius to open a 30-27 lead … trailing 30-27 with 26 seconds remaining @ Bal (11/18), connected on two passes, including an 18-yard completion to Edwards, to set up a game-tying 51-yard field goal that sent the game to OT; on the opening possession in OT, orchestrated a 9-play, 43-yard drive, capped by Dawson’s game-winning 33-yard FG for a 33-30 victory, as Anderson was 4-of-4 for 34 yards on the drive … matched career-bests in attempts (48) and completions (29) @ Cin (12/23).

2006:
Entered his first full season with the Browns as the backup behind starter Charlie Frye … made his NFL debut vs. Den (10/22), replacing Frye for one play in the first quarter and did not attempt a pass … after Frye suffered a bone bruise injury late in the season, Anderson moved into the starting lineup and played in five games (three starts) before suffering a separated shoulder … threw two fourth quarter TD passes as he led the Browns from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to a 31-28 OT win vs. KC (12/3); on the first possession of OT, led the Browns on a 9-play, 63-yard game-winning scoring drive as Phil Dawson converted a 33-yard FG for the win; completed 2 of 2 passes for 34 yards on the OT drive, in addition to a key 33-yard run down to the Chiefs 12-yard line to set up the winning FG … made his first NFL start @ Pit (12/7) and had a season-high 276 yards passing in the game … recorded a season-high 23 completions @ Bal (12/17), including 13 consecutive completions, the fifth-best streak in franchise history … left game vs. TB (12/24) in the fourth quarter with a right shoulder separation and was placed on injured reserve on 12/26.

2005:
After being released by the Ravens, claimed off waivers by the Browns on 9/20 and spent the final 14 games of the season as the third QB.

College:
A four-year letterman at Oregon State (2001-04) who started his final three years and finished his collegiate career completing 768 of 1,515 passes (50.7%) for 11,249 yards, 79 TDs and 57 INTs … was the first QB to lead the Beavers to three bowl games … set school career passing yards and TDs mark … graduated as only the second player in Pac-10 Conference history to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season (Cody Pickett, Washington, 4,458 in 2002) … as a senior in 2004, named second-team All-Pac 10 and extended his consecutive starts streak to 38 games … completed 279 of 515 passes (54.2%) for 3,615 yards, a career-high 29 TDs and 17 INTs and led the Pac-10 in passing (301.2 ypg.) … finished his senior season with a 38-21 victory over Notre Dame in the Insight Bowl in Phoenix, earning game MVP honors when he connected on 28 of 45 passes for 358 yards and four TDs.

Personal:
Full name Derek Matthew Anderson … attended Scappoose (OR) High School where he was the first player selected as the 3A Player of the Year in football and basketball in the same season ... as a senior, led Scappoose to the Oregon state football title and was selected as the top QB in the state and second in the nation by Super Prep Magazine … named USA Today Player of the Year for Oregon … threw for 8,177 yards and 85 TDs during his three-year varsity career … second-team All-State pick as a junior … averaged 26.8 points and 10.8 rebounds during his senior year on the basketball court and was a first-team All-state choice as a junior and senior in basketball … finished his career earning four letters in football and basketball and two in track (shot put, hurdles, 1,600-meter relay) … a right-handed passer, but writes left-handed … named as the 2007 Player of the Year by the local chapter of the PFWA … started a youth football camp at his high school in Scappoose … in 2007, raised more than $50,000 to support flood victims in his home state of Oregon … a 3-handicap golfer.

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