Newsmakers
Out Browns quarterback Brady Quinn will miss Cleveland’s final two games with a foot injury. Coach Eric Mangini said Quinn hurt his foot at the end of a 24-yard bootleg run during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 41-34 win at Kansas City. The Browns have placed Quinn on injured reserve, ending an uneven third season for the former Notre Dame star. Derek Anderson will start Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. Anderson went 1-4 in five starts and had a 36.2 quarterback rating after replacing Quinn in the starting lineup in Week 3.
Leaving Fresno State star running back Ryan Mathews will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft. Mathews thanked Fresno State and said playing in the NFL was his dream. Mathews leads major college football with 1,808 yards rushing this season. He averaged 150.7 yards per game and scored 19 touchdowns for the Bulldogs.
•Rutgers offensive tackle Anthony Davis is skipping his senior season and entering the draft. Some experts have slotted Davis as the third-rated, draft-eligible offensive tackle prospect behind Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung and Oklahoma’s Trent Williams.
Signed Third baseman Garrett Atkins and the Baltimore Orioles finalized their $4.5 million, one-year contract. The 30-year-old has spent his entire seven-year major league career with the Rockies and became a free agent when Colorado failed to offer a 2010 contract. Atkins slumped to a .226 average with nine homers and 48 RBIs last season after hitting .286 with 21 homers and 99 RBIs in 2008.
•Free-agent pitcher Jason Marquis and the Washington Nationals have finalized a $15 million, two-year contract. Marquis will receive $7.5 million in each of the next two seasons under the deal. The 31-year-old Marquis is a right-hander who went 15-13 with a 4.04 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 216 innings for the Colorado Rockies in 2009.
•Reliever Darren Oliver and the Texas Rangers finalized a $3.5 million, one-year contract that includes a club option for 2011. Oliver was 5-1 with a 2.71 ERA in 63 games last season.
Related The younger brother of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, has signed a letter of intent to play for the Vanderbilt Commodores. Jordan Rodgers has signed his letter, begins classes in January and will take part in spring practice. He will compete with sophomore Larry Smith for the starting quarterback position.
Cut New Orleans has cut kicker John Carney, a 21-year NFL veteran who signed with the Saints in August for his second stint with the team. The move came after Carney, who played in 11 games, had been inactive for the last two weeks while Garrett Hartley took over as place-kicker.