BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns, who resorted to playing wide receivers at quarterback because of injuries late last season, traded quarterback Ty Detmer to Detroit on Sunday and sent QB Spergon Wynn and running back Travis Prentice to Minnesota.
In return, the Browns got an undisclosed 2002 draft pick from the Lions and draft picks in 2002 and '03 from the Vikings.
Detmer, with five seasons remaining on a contract that will pay him $1.4 million this year, missed all of 2000 after tearing his Achilles' tendon in a preseason game. He was acquired by the Browns in a trade with San Francisco in 1999 and started the expansion club's first game back in the league following a three-year hiatus.
But he was quickly benched in favor of Tim Couch, the Browns' No. 1 draft pick in 1999.
Because of injuries, the Browns had seven quarterbacks on their roster at various times last season. Things got so bad that wide receivers Dennis Northcutt and Kevin Johnson both lined up at quarterback against Philadelphia late in 2000.
Detmer has also played with Green Bay and Philadelphia during his 10-year career. The 1990 Heisman Trophy winner from BYU has passed for 5,445 yards and 31 TDs.
He previously worked with Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg in San Francisco and will give Detroit a solid backup for Charlie Batch.
Detmer was replaced during training camp as Couch's backup by Kelly Holcomb, who spent the past five seasons in Indianapolis. Detmer did not play in Friday's exhibition loss to Carolina, furthering speculation Browns coach Butch Davis would trade him.