While the Browns continue to negotiate a three-year contract with Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson, general manager Phil Savage protected the team to a certain degree by giving the quarterback the first- and third-round tender offer at $2.562 million.

As of Thursday evening, Anderson, getting feelers from teams in need of quarterbacks, was considering rolling the dice and becoming a restricted free agent to see if there were teams willing to sign him to an offer sheet once free agency starts Friday. Savage, talking to the Cleveland media Thursday morning, said another team could make it difficult for the Browns to match an offer if they want him as a starter, although the Browns’ plan is to retain Anderson and Brady Quinn as their quarterbacks.

The Browns have offered Anderson a three-year deal for about $20 million. Like Matt Schaub a year ago, Anderson would be a popular restricted free agent. The Browns would have seven days to match any offer Anderson signs. Like the Falcons, who traded Schaub to Houston last winter, the Browns could work out a trade different from the first- and third-round choices required if Anderson leaves on an offer sheet.

Restricted free agent tenders have to be submitted to players by 4 p.m. ET or the player becomes a free agent. Thus, for now, Anderson remains the Browns’ starter because of the submission of the tender offer.

SEATTLE — Perhaps an NFL mercy rule isn’t such a bad idea after all.

It surely would have been applied at Qwest Field on Monday night, as the Seattle Seahawks ran roughshod over the lowly San Francisco 49ers in a 24-0 rout.

Mike Nolan, who was coaching the 49ers a day after his father, ex-coach Dick Nolan, died, saw his team become the fifth ever to lose seven in a row after starting a season 2-0.

“Anytime you can get a shutout in this league, it’s really something,” said Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, who offered condolences to Nolan before the game. “I was pleased at how the defense played. The offense was a little better.”

Hey, the Seahawks (5-4) are not the New England Patriots.

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They just looked like them vs. a 49ers outfit that could not contain Matt Hasselbeck’s target practice or generate enough offense to stay in the game.

Hasselbeck passed for 200 yards by halftime, when it was 17-0, and finished 27-for-40 with 278 yards and two TDs.

Holmgren promised to open up his offense, with running back Shaun Alexander out with a broken hand. And he was true to his word, with Hasselbeck passing on 16 of Seattle’s first 19 snaps.

“If you believe you have the right quarterback, then at least you can think about throwing it more,” said Holmgren. “If you have the receivers, there’s less wear and tear on your linemen. It reminds me of our old days at BYU, where we never ran it.”

Alexander’s fill-in, Maurice Morris, rushed 12 times for 78 yards and a TD.

Yet almost any offensive strategy would have been good enough to complement the Seattle defense’s suffocation of 49ers quarterback Alex Smith.

Smith, drafted No. 1 overall in 2005, had another nightmarish experience. He twice set up Seahawks TDs by fumbling on sacks. Smith completed 12 of 28 passes for 114 yards. The 49ers were 0-for-third down and didn’t get a first down until Arnaz Battle hauled in a 45-yard Hail Mary pass just before halftime. They tried everything. Nothing worked.

They even sprung a surprise, shifting Michael Robinson under center after lining up in punt formation … and called timeout. Mercy, please.