Former coaches in Philadelphia are complimentary about Cleveland’s new quarterback.
Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski caused a ripple through Browns nation on Monday when he said that quarterback Kenny Pickett is “a guy I believe in.”
That led some fans to get themselves into a bother believing that Stefanski was implying that Pickett is now in the plans to be the team’s starting quarterback and the Browns will focus their attention elsewhere in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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But take a step back – along with a deep, calming breath – and a few things come into focus:
- First, no head coach or general manager is going to openly talk down a player on the roster; there is simply no value in doing that.
- Second, and perhaps most importantly, it is only the beginning of April. The final makeup of the quarterback room is nowhere near being set, and the Browns don’t have to decide on anything until September rolls around.
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That part was lost in a flurry of sound bytes and social media posts. However, Stefanski prefaced his comments by pointing out that there is still a draft to be had, one where the Browns are likely going to select at least one if not two quarterbacks and the team still has the entirety of training camp and the preseason to get through before settling the starting quarterback role.
So while it is expected that Stefanski would only have good things to say about one of his players at this stage of the offseason, it is interesting to see what Pickett’s former coaches with the Philadelphia Eagles had to say on Tuesday.
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Speaking at the annual NFL owners meetings, Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni credited Pickett’s ability to step in on short notice last season when starter Jalen Hurts was sidelined with a concussion (quote via The Beacon Journal):
“Kenny did a great job of being able to step in and play really good football when his time was called. Helped us win a game. Helped us be in a position to win a game against Washington. Helped us win a game against the Cowboys. We felt very comfortable with him as our backup, that if he had to go into the game, which he did, he’d be able to succeed and give our team an opportunity to win, which he did.
“He’s a great teammate and so a great person, a great football player. Yeah, you’re getting a good man.”
Kellen Moore, who worked last season as Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator before being hired as head coach of the New Orleans Saints this offseason, highlighted the growth Pickett showed in his one year with the Eagles, something that is not always easy when a former first-round draft pick is dumped by his original team (quote via The Beacon Journal):
“Transitions are huge for quarterbacks. Sometimes a fresh start can be very, very valuable. Kenny came to us obviously going through an experience where he played a lot at Pittsburgh really early. We were really excited to get him, and I feel like his growth just took off as the season progressed, and you can certainly see the player that showed up in OTAs versus the player who played against Dallas late in the year. (He was a) very different player. The confidence was there.”
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
So does that mean the Browns have finally solved their quarterback issue and that Pickett is now the man? Obviously not. He was brought to town to fill the second, or more likely third, quarterback slot and be a player that the Browns would call on if all else failed.
But Sirianni and Moore don’t need to talk him up since he is no longer playing for the teams they are coaching, so getting a positive perspective from them should at least calm everyone down a bit if Pickett does have to play this fall, be it as the Week 1 starter if the drafted rookie is not ready, or as a fill-in starter if someone is injured.
Moore also brings up a good point that sometimes, when a player is over-drafted, like Pickett was when the Pittsburgh Steelers made the surprising move to select him in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, they can use a reset in a new environment to settle down and get back on track.
In the end, maybe none of this matters because Pickett spends 17 weeks this fall holding a clipboard on the sidelines.
But for one day at least, it was nice to hear something positive about a quarterback who plays for the Cleveland Browns because that has not always been the case in recent years.