Kenny Pickett is on his third team while DTR heads to the Super Bowl champion Eagles
The Cleveland Browns have finally made a move, at least reportedly, as NFL free agency’s legal tampering period has opened up. The Browns are not signing a free agent but, instead, according to multiple reports, trading for Philadelphia Eagles QB Kenny Pickett.
Pickett, the former 1st round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is heading into his fourth season in the NFL with 25 starts under his belt including one last year with the Eagles. Overall, Pickett-led teams are 15-10 in his starts, mostly with the Steelers, with the University of Pittsburgh quarterback completing 62% of his passes for 4,765 yards with 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
In exchange for Picket, the Browns are sending out QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth round selection in the upcoming NFL draft. DTR was a fifth round pick in 2023 and has played in 15 games, including five starts, for Cleveland. In those starts, the Browns were 1-4 with Thompson-Robinson completing just 53% of his passes with one touchdown and 10 interceptions.
Cleveland holds the second overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft, which could be used to select a quarterback, despite pushback from one NFL insider recently. Pickett could be given a shot to compete for the starting job with the hope that one season in Philadelphia helped turn his career around in similar ways that we’ve seen from Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold in recent seasons.
In one start for the Eagles last year, when Jalen Hurts was out injured, Pickett completed 25 of 42 passes for 291 yards, tow touchdowns and one interception in a 41-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Currently, Pickett is the only healthy quarterback under contract for the Browns and provides the team with, at worst, experienced depth at the position.
Mary Kay Cabot is reporting that Pickett will compete but a veteran quarterback and a long-term rookie are still the plan.
We will have a full profile on Pickett soon, as well as continued coverage of NFL free agency and the start of the offseason in our rumor tracker.
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