BEREA, Ohio – Derek Anderson’s season is officially over, yet another slap for the down-on-their-luck Cleveland Browns.

Anderson, who lost his starting job to Brady Quinn several weeks ago, will miss the final four games after tearing a ligament in his left knee on Sunday against Indianapolis.

An MRI taken Monday revealed Anderson tore the medial collateral ligament when he was sacked in the final minutes of Cleveland’s 10-6 loss to the Colts. Anderson, making his first start since Nov. 2 after being benched for Quinn, will not need surgery. He will be placed in a brace and will need four to six weeks to recover.

Quinn, too, is out for the season with a finger injury. He has not yet decided whether to have surgery on his broken right index finger.

Ken Dorsey will start in place of Anderson on Sunday when the Browns (4-8) visit the Tennessee Titans (11-1). Return specialist Joshua Cribbs, who played quarterback at Kent State, will serve as Dorsey’s backup unless the Browns can sign a veteran quarterback in the next few days.

Barber misses practice

Dallas linebacker DeMarcus Ware and running back Marion Barber were not at practice Monday, the first time the Cowboys were back on the field since both were hurt Thanksgiving Day.

Coach Wade Phillips said both were “day to day.” Ware, the NFL sacks leader, has a hyperextended left knee and Barber has a dislocated right pinkie toe.

“We’ll see how they are,” Phillips said before the early portion of practice open to reporters.

MRI tests Friday revealed no significant damage for Ware and Barber. Both got hurt in the Cowboys’ 34-9 victory over Seattle. Phillips expects Ware to practice this week, but was less certain about Barber.

“It depends on what the doctors say,” Phillips said. “We want to make sure he can obviously do the things he needs to do. How long that takes and what we have to do as far as practice is concerned, I don’t know. Earlier, (doctors) said he would have to stay out during the week, but I don’t know if that is the case or not.”

Even if Barber is not able to go through contact drills, Phillips said the running back would take part in daily walkthroughs as the team prepares for Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh.

Barber got hurt when someone stepped on his foot in the first half Thursday. After X-rays revealed no broken bone, Barber returned after halftime, had only one more carry, leaving the game for good after a 4-yard run midway through the third quarter.

A few plays later, Ware got hurt when his leg turned awkwardly on consecutive steps while rushing the quarterback. He dropped to the ground before walking off under his own power.

Ware had three sacks in the game, pushing his season total to 15.

The Cowboys put left guard Kyle Kosier on injured reserve, ending his season after he played in only three games because of a right foot injury. Kosier reinjured his foot twice trying to return.

Cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones will be eligible to play Sunday after his six-game suspension.

Packers cut punter

The Packers have seen enough from inconsistent punter Derrick Frost.

Coach Mike McCarthy said Monday the team was going to cut Frost and replace him with another player this week. McCarthy said Frost, who was signed when the team cut Jon Ryan just before the season opener in September, performed well in practices but couldn’t carry it over to games.

Frost has had only eight punts downed inside the 20-yard line all season, tying him for 29th in the league. He averaged 42.1 yards per punt and 36.1 net yards.

, putting him outside the league’s top 20 in both categories.

Bears lose NT Dvoracek

Nose tackle Dusty Dvoracek will miss the final four games after rupturing his right biceps during a loss at Minnesota on Sunday night, his third season-ending injury in as many NFL seasons.

Dvoracek was injured on the opening drive and headed straight to the locker room.

“It’s very hard for a guy like Dusty,” coach Lovie Smith said Monday. “No one works harder than him. He’s a tough guy. It’s just unfortunate. If you look at how he injured his arm, it’s a typical play that he’s made plenty of times. It happens.”

A third-round draft pick out of Oklahoma in 2006, Dvoracek missed his rookie season with a foot injury and ruptured his left anterior cruciate ligament in the opener against San Diego last year after earning the starting job. A hand injury then limited his offseason workouts, and a calf problem sidelined him early in training camp.

Now this.

“It’s disheartening knowing the adversity he’s been through in the past,” defensive tackle Tommie Harris said. “To keep continuing to go through this each year is very disheartening, especially having the season that he was having.”

The injury to Dvoracek, who has 40 tackles, came a week after the Bears lost starting cornerback Nathan Vasher for the season with a broken hand. Rookie Marcus Harrison and Anthony Adams will get more work with Dvoracek injured.

Lions sign WR Colbert

Detroit signed wide receiver Keary Colbert, giving him a chance to play for his third NFL team this season. The Lions added him to the roster when it put wide receiver Mike Furrey on injured reserve because of a concussion.

Colbert was released by the Seahawks on Nov. 11, nearly two months after they acquired him from Denver for an undisclosed draft pick. He had seven receptions and scored once in seven games for the Seahawks and didn’t catch a pass in two games with the Broncos. Carolina drafted the former Southern California star in the second round and he had a career-high 47 receptions as a rookie in 2004.

Furrey caught 18 passes in nine games this season, two years after he had 98 receptions for the Lions.

“We have placed Mike Furrey on the reserve/injured list after he continued to experience symptoms related to the concussion he suffered three weeks ago (Nov. 9 vs. Jacksonville),” general manager Martin Mayhew said.

“Over the past few weeks, Mike made several attempts to participate in practice in hopes of returning to the field, but each time he removed himself from practice when dizziness or nausea, related to the concussion, occurred.”

Rams

Coach Jim Haslett clarified an apparent disagreement with running back Steven Jackson after Jackson got just one touch in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 16-12 loss to Miami.

The defeat was the sixth straight for St. Louis and dropped the Rams to 2-10. Afterward, Haslett, who has previously said Jackson’s preseason holdout contributed to his injuries this season, said Jackson didn’t play much in the fourth quarter because he was “gassed.”

Jackson said after the game he wasn’t tired. He gained 94 yards in his first game since Nov. 2 and his first at close to full strength since injuring his right quadriceps on Oct. 19 against Dallas.

“I wasn’t gassed,” Jackson said at the time. “I had 21 carries and felt great. It wasn’t my conditioning. I wish he would stop saying that.”

On Monday, Haslett said Jackson’s conditioning was fine. He said the running back was dragging because of soreness.

“I said this yesterday and it got blown out of proportion,” Haslett said. “He got sore about the 30th play and started dragging a little bit. His conditioning was actually fine. He did a great job with that. You could tell he hasn’t played in a month. He’s a little sore and I commend him for fighting through it and trying to get in there and play. He did a good job when he was in there.”

AP-ES-12-01-08 1742EST