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In an interview with NFL.com's Marc Sessler, former Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson discussed how he contemplated retirement following the 2009 season:
Panthers QB and former Browns starter Derek Anderson told me that he sat in his car in Cleveland back in 2009 and contemplated retirement.
— Marc Sessler (@MarcSesslerNFL) February 2, 2016
Anderson was with the Browns from 2005-2009. His glory season came in 2007, when he became the team's starter and threw for 29 touchdowns and 19 interceptions en route to a 10-5 record and a trip to the Pro Bowl. In 2008, his accuracy dropped to 50.2% as he only started 9 games. In 2009, he started 7 games and had a very poor completion percentage at 44.5% with 3 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Fans started to resent Anderson because of his inaccuracy, and with the quarterback being sent to the bench, he thought long and hard about calling it quits:
"I just was done. Mentally, I wasn't in a very good place," Anderson said, describing how he sat in his car one day after the 2009 season and pondered retirement. "I was done with it. I'd dealt with some things off the field. On the field, it wasn't great, and I really just kind of gave up on what got me to where I was."
Former Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski lured Anderson to Carolina as a backup in 2011, where he has become a great role-player as the backup to Cam Newton:
"I had a conversation with (Chud) before I signed and he said, 'Hey, I know I can get you back to playing how you're capable of. Come here, let's do this, let's do it right.' The confidence he had in me, to have me here and to bring me here and to help Cam was something that, at that point, I needed," said Anderson.
During his 5 years in Carolina, he's only started 2 games, both of which came in 2014. He completed 67% of his passes with 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions that year. The odds of him playing in the Super Bowl aren't very high, but if Newton goes down against Denver's physical defense, Anderson will be ready to answer the bell.