CLEVELAND – New general manager Tom Heckert won’t tip his hand on what the Browns will do at quarterback.

“It’s probably a little too early to say on both of them,” Heckert said Wednesday night at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards.

Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn had disappointing seasons in 2009, and neither is a lock to return – especially as the starter.

Anderson is due a $2 million bonus in March and $7.45 million more in salary for the 2010 season. He finished with a dismal 42.1 rating and has had two substandard years since a Pro Bowl season in 2007.

Quinn was benched after three starts, regained the job, then finished the year on injured reserve after hurting his foot. He saw the most extensive action of his three-year career, but was inaccurate throughout the season and finished with a 67.2 rating.

New president Mike Holmgren said recently he doesn’t believe in holding quarterback competitions in training camp. He prefers to pick a starter and put the organization’s resources into preparing him.

So a decision will be made in the next few months. The Browns could stand pat, trade for a veteran and/or draft someone in April.

“It’s a difficult decision. We have to get together,” Heckert said. “We have not made any decision on anybody.

“They both have talent, no doubt about it. Both played well at times. We have to wait and see what happens.”

Florida’s Tim Tebow has been the quarterback garnering the most attention across the NFL, excluding Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. The former Heisman Trophy winner was picked apart by scouts, general managers and analysts last week during the Senior Bowl.

The left-hander has a long throwing motion and struggled taking snaps from center after years in the shotgun. Heckert said Tebow knew the criticism was coming, but attended the Senior Bowl anyway.

“He went way up in my book for doing that,” Heckert said. “There was talk he wasn’t going to go. I think it’s great that he went.

“He’s a competitor. He wants to show what he can do. He knew it was going to happen, everybody knew what was going to happen.”

Heckert said Tebow’s draft position is uncertain – the third round seems most likely — but is convinced he will be an NFL quarterback, not an H-back or tight end as some have suggested.

“He’s going to be a quarterback, first of all. Where he goes and how well he plays, that’s the question,” Heckert said. “Everything beside the actual playing the position, he’s got it all. He’s everything you want, the greatest kid in the world.

“People can knock him all they want, but he won a ton of games, and they didn’t just run the ball. He threw the ball and he threw the ball well. It’s tough to knock a kid like that, but to say he’s going to be a franchise quarterback, that’s going to be a big decision for whoever takes him.”

The biggest knock on Tebow is his delivery. His long, wide motion requires time and space to release the ball – which are rarely available in an NFL pocket. Heckert said the flaws can be corrected, to a degree.

“He can’t completely change his whole thing. That’s tough to do,” he said. “He does have a little bit longer delivery, but I’m sure he can shorten that up a little bit.

“But he’s not going to change a whole lot what he does. He won a lot of games doing what he’s doing now.”

Heckert said strong intangibles can make up for a lot of deficiencies.

“You’ve seen it throughout the league,” he said. “Guys with maybe not the strongest arm or a different delivery, they’ve won games. So it’s really hard to overlook the other (positive) stuff. Somebody’s going to get a good player.”

Heckert, who said he has a good feel for the Browns roster after a month on the job, touched on a few other topics.

 He said the Browns will start talking to the agents of the free agents they want to retain. He wouldn’t name the players they will try to re-sign, but was asked specifically about linebacker D’Qwell Jackson and running back Jerome Harrison.

“We think he’s a good player, we like him,” Heckert said of Jackson. “We just have to see how that goes.”

Harrison finished the season with three straight 100-yard games after sporadic playing time and production his first three-plus years.

“It is a projection,” Heckert said. “He did a heckuva job at the end of the season, he really did. Whether a guy like Jerome can carry the ball that much throughout the whole season, that’s probably a little difficult to say.

“He’s a good player. He proved at least he can play in the league. That was an unknown till this year. He did himself a favor and we think he’s a good player.”

 The impending return to the league of receiver Donte Stallworth. His suspension from commissioner Roger Goodell is set to end after the Super Bowl, and he’s under contract with the Browns.

“Randy’s going to be involved, as well,” Heckert said of owner Randy Lerner. “We will discuss it as an organization.”

Contact Scott Petrak at (440) 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.