Anderson regrets blasting Browns fans

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Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson says he regrets statements he made blasting Browns fans following his release from the team on Tuesday.

A Tough Town For QBs

Derek Anderson's comments point to two things that are true in Cleveland, writes James Walker. Browns fans are frustrated. And they're often smitten with the quarterback holding the clipboard. Blog

On Tuesday, the Browns released Anderson, a former Pro Bowl quarterback, after five years in Cleveland, as the team decided to cast its lot with Brady Quinn and avoid paying Anderson a $2 million roster bonus and a $7.45 million salary in 2010.

The move came just one day after the team acquired Seneca Wallace in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks.

Following his release, Anderson lashed out at Browns fans in an e-mail to the Willoughby News-Herald.

"The fans are ruthless and don't deserve a winner," Anderson said in the e-mail Tuesday. "I will never forget getting cheered when I was injured.

"I know at times I wasn't great. I hope and pray I'm playing when my team comes to town and [we] roll them."

When Anderson sustained a knee injury in a 2008 game against Indianapolis, some Browns fans cheered as he laid on the field in pain. Despite making the Pro Bowl in 2007, the majority of Cleveland fans wanted the club to start Quinn, a first-round draft pick in 2007.

But in a statement released Wednesday, Anderson said those words came out of frustration.

“

I wasn't taken out of context, but I was speaking out of frustration after my career with the Browns came to a close.

” -- Ex-Browns QB Derek Anderson

"I said some things to [News-Herald reporter] Jeff Schudel earlier that I regret," Anderson said. "Those of you who got to know me personally from covering the Browns over the past five years, know this was out of character for me. I wasn't taken out of context, but I was speaking out of frustration after my career with the Browns came to a close.

"I had some great times playing in Cleveland, especially during the 2007 season, and I met some great people and made many lifelong friends along the way," Anderson said Wednesday. "I'm looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life."

According to a league source, Anderson already has two scheduled visits -- first with the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday and then the Arizona Cardinals on Friday.

ESPN.com AFC North writer James Walker and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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