[3] Anderson's early entry as the starting quarterback came on the heels of Oregon State's most successful period to date.

Capped by a crushing 41–9 Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame, the team went 11–1 in 2000 and ranked 4th in the nation under head coach Dennis Erickson.

Following the breakthrough season, fan expectations were exceptionally high in 2002 for the Oregon State program to pick up where they left off.

Unfortunately, Oregon State had lost the majority of its star players to the NFL in 2001 and the inexperienced Anderson was handed the reins of a team many overestimated and believed would again crack the top 25.

Oregon State lost 38–13 and coach Erickson left for an NFL head-coaching position with the San Francisco 49ers.

The return of previous head coach Mike Riley from the NFL meant learning an entirely new system.

With help from teammate and star running back Steven Jackson, Anderson again rose to the occasion and played a leading role in propelling the team to an 8–5 record, capped by a 55–14 Las Vegas Bowl win over a then up-and-coming New Mexico program.

He became a dual-threat quarterback and began showing a true command of the game by his improvisation in the pocket and successful outlet passing when under duress.

Although the team's 7–5 performance was far from spectacular, Anderson became nationally recognized as a dangerous offensive weapon who could strike long gains at will.

Anderson was selected out of Oregon State University by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL draft (213th overall).

He made his NFL debut against the Denver Broncos at Cleveland Browns Stadium, on October 22, taking one snap after Frye was briefly shaken up.

Head coach Romeo Crennel earlier said that the two were so close in effectiveness that he would use a coin toss to decide which quarterback would start the first preseason game.

[20] The game was Frye's last in a Browns uniform, as he was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a sixth-round draft pick two days later.

Anderson had four interceptions, two of them on consecutive plays, and one more in the Cincinnati end zone as Cleveland appeared to be heading for a scoring drive.

[33] With fans split between the proven Anderson and the locally-homegrown Quinn (an image of Quinn wearing a Bernie Kosar jersey as a kid was shown at the 2007 NFL draft), many were speculating if the Browns were in a similar position the San Diego Chargers were in a few years back with Drew Brees and their first-round pick Philip Rivers.

[38][39] Anderson would wind up being one of the most productive quarterbacks for Cleveland, statistically, and that legacy lasted over the franchise's next nine years as he ranked the third-best QB overall between 2000 and 2018.

Anderson also created a notable soundbite after being caught on national TV laughing with teammate Deuce Lutui while he and his team were playing poorly.

His subsequent anger toward the reporter who kept questioning him on the subject made national news and was featured on several sports shows.

In the game, Anderson completed 24 of 34 passes for 230 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, leading the Panthers to a 20–14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

[49] In Week 4 of the 2016 season against the Atlanta Falcons, Anderson entered the game after an injury to Newton and threw for 172 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions as the Panthers lost by a score of 48–33.

[50] Due to Newton's injury, Anderson started the Week 5 game against the Buccaneers and threw for 278 yards and two interceptions as the Panthers lost by a score of 17–14.

[52][53] Anderson came into the 2017 NFC Wild Card Round on January 7, 2018, against the New Orleans Saints in the fourth quarter after Newton went down with an injury.

[54] On October 7, 2018, it was announced Anderson would sign with the Buffalo Bills, reuniting with Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane from his days playing for the Carolina Panthers, to serve as backup and mentor to rookie quarterback Josh Allen.

[55] On October 17, following an injury to Allen and a poor performance by backup quarterback Nathan Peterman in relief, Anderson was named the Week 7 starter for the Bills against the Indianapolis Colts.

[61] He later attributed his retirement to lingering effects from the 2018 concussion; he remains in regular contact with Allen and approved of the hiring of his (Anderson's) friend Ken Dorsey as quarterbacks coach.