Browns Send Star Quarterback to Raiders as Geno Smith’s Backup Amid Ongoing Shedeur Sanders Saga

Kenny Pickett has been traded three times within twelve months.

Browns Send Star Quarterback to Raiders as Geno Smith’s Backup Amid Ongoing Shedeur Sanders Saga

Kenny Pickett (Image via IMAGO)

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The Las Vegas Raiders have found their replacement for Aidan O’Connell. On Monday, the team of John Spytek and Pete Carroll traded for Kenny Pickett from the Cleveland Browns.

With O’Connell out for 6 to 8 weeks due to a wrist injury sustained in the final preseason game, the Raiders desperately searched for a suitable alternative. Eventually, they settled on trading for Pickett.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Raiders sent a conditional 2026 sixth-round draft pick to the Browns in exchange for Pickett. The former first-rounder will now serve as the backup to Geno Smith in Sin City.

What led to the Browns trading Kenny Pickett to the Raiders?

Pickett only joined the Browns at the start of the current offseason from the Philadelphia Eagles and sent Dorian Thompson-Robinson the other way. He was viewed as the starter due to Deshaun Watson’s unavailability.

Browns Send Star Quarterback to Raiders as Geno Smith's Backup Amid Ongoing Shedeur Sanders Saga
Kenny Pickett (Image via IMAGO)

Browns’ GM Andrew Berry’s next move was re-signing veteran Joe Flacco as competition for the starting QB role. Later, he drafted not one but two quarterbacks.

The Browns selected Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third round and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders in the fifth. Now, they had four quarterbacks on the roster.

Flacco’s familiarity with Kevin Stefanski’s system tipped the balance in his favor. By the end of the training camp, the 40-year-old had overtaken Pickett as the number one in Cleveland.

Pickett fell behind because he missed the latter half of the camp after suffering a hamstring injury. It also kept him out of the preseason, with Tyler Huntley temporarily filling in as the fourth QB on the roster.

For the longest time, the Browns planned to keep four quarterbacks (excluding Huntley). However, they remained open to an exceptional offer.

Huntley was cut after the final preseason game, leaving Flacco, Pickett, Gabriel, and Sanders as the four quarterbacks. That number quickly reduced to three after Pickett’s trade to the Raiders.

Pickett’s trade created NFL history

The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero attracted attention to an interesting piece of trivia connected with Pickett’s trade. Pelissero revealed that the Pitt graduate became only the second player in the last 30 seasons to be traded more than three times within his first 4 NFL seasons.

Sam Howell achieved the same status as Pickett only a day earlier when the Minnesota Vikings traded him to the Eagles. Howell began his NFL journey with the Washington Commanders but fell out of favor with the emergence of Jayden Daniels.

The Commanders traded Howell to the Seattle Seahawks, where he sat behind Geno Smith for one year before the Vikings acquired him off their hands in April 2025 for a fifth-round pick.

Pickett began his NFL journey with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who drafted him 20th overall in 2022. Two seasons and a 14-10 record later, the Steelers traded him to the Eagles along with a 2024 fourth-round pick in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick and two 2025 seventh-round picks.

At Philly, Pickett was sandwiched between Jalen Hurts and Tanner McKee. He made 5 appearances (only started one game), contributed 3 touchdowns, and one interception en route to winning Super Bowl 59.

With the rise of McKee as a competent backup, the Eagles opted to cash in by trading Pickett to the Browns. And now he’s part of the Raiders QB room with Smith and rookie Cam Miller.

The Raiders went 1-1-1 in the preseason after losing to the Arizona Cardinals last week. As for their opening day fixture in the campaign, the Raiders have an away game at Foxboro against the New England Patriots.

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