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Cleveland Browns does not wear four quarterbacks on their 53-man list after all after a fantastic trade on Monday night.
Browns treated veteran Kenny Pickett to Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a 2026 fifth round NFL draft election.
Raiders were desperate for a backup quarterback to Geno Smith, which they traded for earlier this season with Seattle Seahawks to reunite him with his old head coach, Pete Carroll. Aidan O’Connell broke his wrist under the Raiders’ Forsø-Seasonal and sidelined him for 6-8 weeks.
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Cleveland Browns Quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) Under Mini Camp on crosscountry mortgage campus on June 12, 2025. (Ken Blaze-Preferred Pictures)
O’Connell was expected to back up Smith this season, but the long absence forced Las Vegas to look elsewhere. Carroll mentioned that they would have someone with a starting experience, and the Raiders get it in the fourth year man out of Pitt.
Pickett has 25 starts under its NFL belt, which goes 15-10 over this span with Pittsburgh Steelers. However, he could not solidify the starting job there, which eventually led to a trade for the Philadelphia Eagles before the season 2024. It was there as Pickett backed up that Jalen hurt Eagles’ way to a Super Bowl Lix win last season.
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Pickett was then traded from Philadelphia to Cleveland as Browns gathered their quarterback room with Deshaun Watson sidelined by a torn Achilles. Pickett competed with veteran Joe Flacco – already named the week 1 -starts of head coach Kevin Stefanski – as well as Rookies Dillon Gabriel (third round) and Shedur Sanders (fifth round).
A hamstring injury suffered early in training camp costs Pickett valuable time to compete for his program list. He did not play in any of the team’s trial play, although Stefanski mentioned after the final against Los Angeles Rams that he thought Pickett would return in time in week 1.
With Flacco, already locked in as a starter, got the question of who Stefanski would choose when Browns’ backup received extra attention, especially with National Spotlight on Sanders, the son of the Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. ESPN recently reported that Browns was preparing to carry four quarterbacks on their 53-man list, but the trade changes the whole situation.
Cleveland Browns Quarterbacks Kenny Pickett, Left, Dillon Gabriel, Center and Joe Flacco are heated during an NFL practice at Cleveland Brown’s training facility on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 in Berea, Ohio. (Jeff Lange / USA Today Network via iMagn -Pictures)
Tyler “Snoop” Huntley, who was brought in after Pickett and Gabriel treated early training camp damage, was reportedly waived by Browns after his forecast.
So while Pickett finds out that Raiders ‘backup -quarterback to start the season, who will sit behind Flacco on Browns’ depth cards, a topic of speculation remains until Stefanski rings.
Sanders strengthened his case with an impressive debut for the season against Carolina Panthers and finished 14 of 23 passes in 138 yards and two touchdowns along with four wears in 19 yards. Injury held him out of the team’s second game, but he returned in the second half of the final against Rams, where he fought – finish only 3 of 6 in 14 yards while taking five sacks.
Cleveland Browns Quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) throws a passport under MiniCamp on Crosscountry MortGage Campus on June 10, 2025. (Ken Blaze/IMAGN -Pictures)
Gabriel, after missing the opener, played in the last two for -season -Matchups. He finished 25 of 37 passes in 272 yards with a touchdown and an eavesdropping. Against Rams, he walked 12 of 19 in 129 yards and threw his lonely touchdown of the forecast.
Browns’ program list together with every other NFL team must be completed before Tuesday’s at. 16 a -deadline.
