Browns deal Quinn to Broncos

The Brady Quinn era with the Browns, which never really began, came to an unceremonious end yesterday after three years of frustration, injuries and mostly standing on the sideline watching someone else play quarterback.

Quinn was traded to the Broncos yesterday for fullback Peyton Hillis and two low draft choices.

In a busy afternoon, the Browns also shipped linebacker Kamerion Wimbley to the Oakland Raiders for a third-round draft choice. Wimbley led the Browns with 6.5 sacks in 2009. He had 11 sacks as a rookie in 2006 and never got close to matching that in the next three seasons.

Hillis was a seventh-round draft choice of Denver in 2008. He played in 28 games with eight starts in two years with the Broncos and totaled 397 yards rushing and six touchdowns on 81 attempts (4.9 average). He caught 18 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown.

Hillis could complement Jerome Harrison in 2010. As a rookie, he led Denver with 343 yards rushing and five touchdowns. Last season’s first-year coach Josh McDaniels turned Hillis into a fullback. Hillis rushed for 53 yards.

The Browns also got a 2011 sixth-round pick and a conditional pick in 2012 for Quinn, a first-round draft choice in 2007.

With Quinn and Wimbley both gone, the Browns have only two of their own first-round draft picks from their first 11 years since their rebirth Ã¢â‚¬â€ť 2007 pick Joe Thomas and 2009 pick Alex Mack.

Since the 2010 NFL year began on March 5, Browns president Mike Holmgren has:

 ¢ Traded defensive tackle Corey Williams and a seventh-round pick to the Lions for a fifth-round draft choice in 2010. In the process, the Browns dumped a $1.5 million roster bonus and $4.2 million in salary.

 ¢ Signed linebacker Scott Fujita, offensive tackle Tony Pashos, tight end Ben Watson and quarterback Jake Delhomme in free agency.

 ¢ Traded a 2011 conditional draft pick to the Seahawks for quarterback Seneca Wallace.

 ¢ Released quarterback Derek Anderson and center Hank Fraley.

The Wimbley trade was not anticipated, but it is not a total shock; he will be a free agent after next season if the league and union reach a new collective bargaining agreement.

The Quinn trade was expected. It was just a matter of where and when after Wallace and Delhomme were acquired.

“I appreciate everything Brady did for us last year and in his three seasons with the Cleveland Browns, ť head Coach Eric Mangini said in a statement released by the club. “He is professional in the way he goes about doing his job and worked extremely hard at every aspect of his game. I wish him the best of success in Denver. ť

Some draft analysts predicted Quinn would be a top-five pick in 2007 after a stellar career at Notre Dame. But the Raiders took LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell with the first pick, and then the Browns took Joe Thomas third. The Dolphins had the ninth pick. They needed a quarterback, but passed on Quinn and drafted Ted Ginn Jr.

The Browns gave the Cowboys their 2007 second round pick (36th overall, which the Eagles used on quarterback Kevin Kolb after getting the pick in another trade) and their first-round pick in 2008 for the 22nd pick in the first-round in 2007. An agonizing wait for Quinn was over; the team he grew up rooting for as a youngster in Dublin, had drafted him.

Quinn played in 13 of a possible 48 games with the Browns during three years. He was 3-9 as a starter. Quinn completed 284 of 353 passes (52.1 percent) for 1,902 yards and 10 touchdowns. He threw nine interceptions.

Quinn and Hillis have to pass physicals for the trade to be completed. Quinn is coming off a foot injury that forced him to miss the last two games of 2009.

Quinn heads to Denver as the backup to Kyle Orton, a restricted free agent. Depending on whether Orton signs his tender or a long-term contract with the Broncos, Quinn could be in line to start in Denver in 2011.

The Browns now have 12 picks in 2010 Ã¢â‚¬â€ť one in the first round, one in the second, three in the third, one in the fourth, four in the fifth and two in the sixth.