Kenny Pickett Lands with Browns in Surprising Trade
The Philadelphia Eagles are trading Kenny Pickett to the Cleveland Browns for a 2025 fifth-round pick and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Pickett will now face his former team in the Pittsburgh Steelers twice a year. The last time a former Steelers quarterback started for the Browns was Bill Nelsen from 1968-72.
With the Cleveland Browns having an uncertain quarterback situation, Pickett could be the starter in Cleveland. Playing behind Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, Pickett had no hope to start in Philadelphia. So he’ll now be given an opportunity to get his career back on track, and perhaps get revenge on his former team that traded him last year.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that Picket is being brought in to compete. The Browns are still likely to look for their veteran “bridge” QB who can start until their rookie is ready.
Pickett, who was the first-round draft pick of the Steelers in 2022, was the Steelers’ starting quarterback 365 days ago.
None of it worked out according to plan. The Steelers saddled Pickett with a failure of an offensive coordinator in Matt Canada, and despite his status as a veteran college player with ton of starting experience, he never fit in as a leader in a veteran locker room.
“Yeah, man, it came a long way,” Pickett said to Steelers Now at Super Bowl Opening Night. “You never know where the game’s gonna take you. Just, I’m grateful to be here, just be where your feet are. If you put everything into the team, good things happen, so it’s been a good year.”
Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports floated a Pickett trade scenario to the Browns during an appearance on 93.2 The Fan last month.
Kinkhabwala believes Pickett was set up for failure in Pittsburgh due to playing in Matt Canada’s offense. In the right situation, she believes he could flourish.
“You can’t just look at his stats in a vacuum,” Kinkhabwala said. “The two years that Kenny Pickett had in Pittsburgh were, arguably, the most dysfunctional offense that I’ve ever been around… in 15 years of covering the NFL.”
Alan Saunders contributed reporting for the story.