The Cleveland Browns have traded quarterback Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders. View the details of the trade below.
Browns Trade QB Kenny Pickett To Raiders
Trade: Browns are sending QB Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders, per sources.
Raiders needed another backup for Geno Smith with QB Aidan O'Connell fracturing his wrist in the preseason finale and being expected to miss 6-8 weeks. pic.twitter.com/BdoWHD5aBF
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 26, 2025
Pickett’s time in Cleveland has ended without ever stepping on the field in the regular season.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Browns are trading Pickett to the Raiders for a 2026 fifth-round pick.
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
In two seasons with the Steelers, Pickett went 14-10 as the starter, throwing for 4,474 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. Pickett also rushed for 291 yards and four touchdowns.
Pickett’s inconsistency led to his downfall in Pittsburgh. Pickett suffered an ankle sprain in Week 13 of the 2023 season. By the end of the season, Mason Rudolph became the starter, with Pickett being demoted to backup.
The Steelers traded Pickett and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2024 third-round pick and two 2025 seventh-round picks.
Pickett backed up quarterback Jalen Hurts for the Super Bowl-winning Eagles.
In March, the Eagles traded Pickett to the Browns for quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round pick.
Pickett was expected to compete for the starting job with Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders. However, Pickett injured his hamstring early in training camp, which kept him out of the preseason.
After Gabriel and Sanders showed promise, the Browns elected to roll with Flacco as the starter while developing the two rookies.
Pickett now heads to Vegas to be the backup quarterback for Geno Smith.
Aidan O’Connell entered the preseason as Smith’s backup. However, O’Connell suffered a fractured right wrist in the Raiders’ season finale against the Arizona Cardinals.
O’Connell is set to miss six to eight weeks.
With O’Connell out for the first two months, the Raiders make the move for Pickett to provide some experience at the backup quarterback position. Rookie Cam Miller will be the third-string.
Who Will Be The Browns’ Backup Quarterback?
Dillon Gabriel showing what he can do in the 2-minute drill
Watch on @NFLNetwork
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/icjs4sj4gF— NFL (@NFL) August 23, 2025
Flacco will start the season as the Browns’ quarterback. The question now becomes who will serve as his primary backup, Gabriel or Sanders?
Judging from his performance in the preseason, Gabriel is the likely candidate to be second on the depth chart.
The Oregon product shone in the Browns’ third and final preseason game. Gabriel completed 12 of 19 passes for 129 yards and one touchdown.
Meanwhile, Sanders struggled, completing just 3 of 6 passes for 14 yards. Sanders was also sacked five times, losing 41 yards.
Sanders remains the bigger developmental project, while Gabriel feels like the ready-to-play prospect if Flacco goes down with an injury.
