Browns’ Anderson to replace Brady
The Cleveland quarterback is named in the NFL Pro Bowl.
 |
| Derek Anderson: Off to the Pro Bowl [GALLO/GETTY] |
Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson will replace New England’s Tom Brady and tight end Kellen Winslow will sub for San Diego Chargers’ Antonio Gates for Sunday’s NFL Pro Bowl.
Brady, sacked five times by the New York Giants and pounded throughout Sunday’s Super Bowl, has been bothered by a tender ankle.
In a release, the Browns did not provide a reason for Anderson replacing the Patriots star.
With Anderson and Winslow making the trip, the Browns will have six players in the Pro Bowl, the club’s most since sending six in 1994.
And not bad for a club which didn’t make the playoffs.
Anderson, who began the season as Charlie Frye’s backup, threw for 3,787 yards and 29 touchdown passes while going 10-5 as a starter for Cleveland, which was edged out of a playoff spot because of a tiebreaker.
Anderson is the first Cleveland quarterback to make the Pro Bowl since Bernie Kosar in 1987.
Despite playing on bad knees and with a separated shoulder, Winslow led the Browns with 82 receptions and had 1,106 receiving yards, the most by a Cleveland tight end.
He’ll undergo another surgery, his fourth since 2004, on his right knee after the Pro Bowl.
Winslow had postponed the operation in anticipation of replacing Gates, who sustained a toe injury during the playoffs.
Before this season, the Browns had not had a player selected for the Pro Bowl since linebacker Jamir Miller in 2001.