BEREA, Ohio — A collective cheer resonated from the middle of the field at the Cleveland Browns practice facility on Wednesday.

No, coach Eric Mangini has not settled on a starting quarterback. The players were simply relieved they’d reached the end of training camp and daily life in a hotel.
The competition between Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn that has engulfed camp will continue into the team’s third preseason game Saturday night against Tennessee. Anderson, who has carved a reputation as laid-back and easygoing, doesn’t mind waiting on Mangini’s decision.
“I’ll ride it out,” Anderson said. “I don’t have a choice.”
Mangini hasn’t even announced who will start Saturday’s exhibition, but that’s not unusual.
Anderson said Mangini has told the quarterbacks who will start “the night before sometimes — or not. Just whenever he tells me.”
The third preseason game traditionally is the most like the regular season, with starters routinely playing well into the second half. Receiver Braylon Edwards acknowledged Mangini’s game plan for the Titans seems to be thicker and more thorough, but stopped short of saying the starting quarterback Saturday night — whoever it is — will have a decided advantage in the competition.
“This game, in terms of who starts, don’t bet your chips on it,” Edwards said. “Mangini is still coach Mangini. He’s still going to make the decision at the end of the day, and who knows what he’s thinking? I wouldn’t bank anything on it and I wouldn’t make anything of it.”
Mangini has divided the practice snaps evenly between Anderson and Quinn, although Quinn received the bulk of the passing attempts in the first preseason game against Green Bay.
Anderson tightened up the race with his performance against Detroit last Saturday, directing the Browns to their first offensive touchdown in seven games. He completed 8 of 13 passes for 130 yards, though a late interception when he was reinserted to run a 2-minute drive near the end of the first half tarnished his final numbers.
Anderson isn’t worried about whether he’ll start or come off the bench against the Titans.
“I’ll go in when (Mangini) tells me to go in and take advantage of every play that is called,” Anderson said. “Hopefully, they’re all positive.”
If Anderson, who went to the Pro Bowl in 2007, is frustrated over another competition to keep his starting job, he’s not showing it. He has steadfastly refused to get drawn in to any debates over the quarterbacks.
Wednesday he declined to dissect what he and Quinn do well, then later declined to answer whether this could be his final quarterback competition with the Browns.
“I’m under contract with the Browns for another year,” he said. “As far as my career goes, you compete with guys in camp every single year, regardless if you’re named the starter or the backup going in.”
Quinn was unavailable for interviews on Wednesday but was expected to talk to the media on Thursday.
NOTES: Wednesday is Jamal Lewis’ 30th birthday ... Mangini admitted he’s comfortable starting defensive tackle Shaun Rogers in the season opener even if the Pro Bowler misses the entire preseason. “I feel like I have a pretty good handle on what he can do,” Mangini said. Rogers missed practice again on Wednesday. ... Offensive lineman Ryan Tucker was not at practice on Wednesday. ... Team PR man Dino Lucarelli is retiring after 35 years with the organization. Lucarelli most recently served as the team’s director of alumni relations. He will remain with the team as a consultant.