the browns are in the playoff running for the first time in how long? and you want to get rid of Anderson, i know the browns have a tradition of having great draft picks that are never a bust like Tim Couch but i think this conversation is HORSEBALLS. hold on to them both, quinn is not signed for that much money he was a late first round pick

Franchising him would put his salary at the average of the top five QB's.  The best option is to tender him an offer.  He can negotiate with other clubs, but we can still match any offer.  This would keep him for an additional year.  If it turns our he was a one year wonder, we can go with Brady, if not, we can sign him long term.

I think we are getting ahead of ourselves.  The Browns have one decision to make right now.

1.  Franchise him?
   
2.  Tender him an offer.  At what level?
   
3.  Negotiate out a long term deal

Let's discuss this a bit further.

1.  Franchising him locks him into a (by my calculation) $12 mil cap hit and assuredly prevents other teams from trying "steal" him because no team would ever give up 2 #1's for a one year QB.
Result:   We are forced to sign him to a long term deal or risk having a 12 mil hit and losing him next year while receiving nothing in return.

2.  Tender him and offer keeps him here for at least another year.
Result:  We keep him for one more year at a great price and we set a high but arguably reasonable price to start trade negotiations.

3.  Sign him to a long term deal and have two qb's.  Of course, this is a lot easier said then done since we have no idea what DA wants (although I'm sure Savage does)
Result:  DA's or Quinn's perceived value throughout the league (and thus trade value) slowly diminishes through the years that one of them is not playing, and every year/game that we don't play well there is a QB controversy.  (Yes I know injury's and it's always good to have two, but that only works if #2 has accepted being #2 and I don't think DA or Quinn will be content as the #2 since DA is a successful starter right now and Quinn was a first round draft pick with a ton of hype).

Conclusion:  No-brainer.  Tender him the highest offer and let the market work itself out.  Listen to all the trade offers and monitor all the contract talks.  Let the rest of the league decide his worth while managing the risk of keeping/losing a highly valuable asset for a small $2.5 mil contract or a 1 an 3.