BEREA, Ohio -- Brady Quinn has a new home in the Cleveland Browns' renovated locker room -- behind a pillar in the far back corner.
It's in contrast to his role with the team, where he's front and center with Derek Anderson in Cleveland's quarterback race.
The saga will continue Saturday night in the Browns' preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, when both Quinn and Anderson could play into the second half. Which player starts, however, will have little bearing on the ultimate winner of the competition.
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"I wouldn't read anything into that at all," first-year Browns coach Eric Mangini said Thursday. "Somebody has to (start), but the goal is to get a balance. That hasn't changed."
Quinn and Anderson equally shared all the practice snaps throughout training camp. Quinn started and played well in the preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers, and Anderson's moment came last week against the Detroit Lions, when he led the offense to its first touchdown in seven games.
If the rotation continues, Quinn would be in line to start against the Titans. Mangini plans to sit down with both quarterbacks Friday to inform them who will start. Both are expected to see significant time with the starters.
"When you're unsure if you're starting or not, you have to prepare as the starter," Quinn said Thursday. "If you're the No. 2, that's still the same way you prepare. If the No. 1 guy goes down, the No. 2 guy has to be ready to go. Otherwise, he's doing his team an incredible injustice."
Quinn replaced Anderson as the starter halfway through last season, but his year ended after just three starts because of a fractured finger. Quinn is in line to receive hefty bonuses should he win the starting job.
"Obviously there's a financial side to everything we do with this job," Quinn said. "But it's not something you think about. We're compensated well. We're just trying to play the game."
One day after the New York Jets, Mangini's old team, named rookie Mark Sanchez as the starting quarterback, the Browns' quarterback competition shows no sign of ending.
Mangini has never indicated when he plans to announce his starter for the Sept. 13 season opener against the Minnesota Vikings, and this week, he didn't dismiss the idea that the decision might not come until the day before kickoff. Despite the uncertainty, Mangini has been impressed with how Anderson and Quinn have handled the scrutiny.
"It's a credit to both of them," Mangini said. "Both have been competitive, both have worked hard at the things we've asked them to do. They've both been good teammates in the process, and I respect that. It's not always easy to be fiercely competitive and fiercely loyal to the team. I think they've been that. That's what you ask guys to go. How you deal with that situation tells you a lot about who that person is."
Notes: S Brodney Pool and OL Ryan Tucker again were absent from practice Thursday. Tucker has missed two days, and Pool hasn't been seen since the game against the Lions last Saturday. ... "With rehab guys working off to the side, sometimes they do it inside and sometimes they do it outside," Mangini said. ... Don't expect the Browns to be featured on HBO's Hard Knocks as long as Mangini is in charge. "It's not really my approach," he said. "I don't think there's anything wrong with doing it. I think it's a pretty cool show."
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
