The 2008 season was a tough one for the Browns and Anderson. In the preseason, he suffered a concussion when he was sacked by Osi Umenyiora of the New York Giants. This would prevent him from practicing for the majority of the preseason. In the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, he was 11-of-24 for 110 yards and a touchdown. On November 3, after starting out the season the Browns announced that Anderson would be benched in favor of Quinn. On November 23, during a game against the Houston Texans, Quinn was benched by Crennel in favor of Anderson. On November 25, Quinn was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a broken finger and Anderson was renamed the starting quarterback. On November 30, Anderson was injured during a game versus the Indianapolis Colts. It was later revealed to be an MCL injury, which put Anderson out for the season. Ken Dorsey came into the starting role, but could not save the Browns. The Browns lost the last four games to finish with a 4–12 record.