Kenny Pickett was on the Philadelphia Eagles team that won Super Bowl LIX. Even though he didn’t play a big part during the season, he did get on the field in the Super Bowl and helped the Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, just a month later, he’s reportedly been traded to the Cleveland Browns.
The trade brings quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson to the Eagles, along with a 2025 fifth-round draft pick. The Cleveland Browns are making this move because they need to strengthen their quarterback position after Deshaun Watson was injured and will miss a lot of time in 2025.
In January, the Browns announced that Watson re-ruptured his right Achilles and will miss a lot of time in 2025. With Watson not playing well, the Browns likely won’t have him as their QB anymore, so Pickett should get a chance to start for Cleveland.
This trade might surprise some people since Kenny Pickett was part of the Super Bowl-winning team. However, his performance wasn’t big enough to make him a key player.
Meanwhile, the Browns pick him given his past record with the Steelers. During his time with the Steelers, Pickett led the team to a 15-10 record as a starter. So, in need of a reliable quarterback, they see potential in Pickett as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.
It could be Kenny Pickett’s last chance to save his short-handed career
Kenny Pickett was picked by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. But his career has been pretty rocky due to injury so far. After struggling with the Steelers, he was traded to the Eagles in 2024. There, he mostly sat on the bench behind Jalen Hurts, playing just one game as a starter and appearing in five regular-season games.
Now, with the Browns, things look different. Deshaun Watson will be out for a long time. Jameis Winston and Bailey Zappe are free agents. Plus, Thompson-Robinson was traded away.
That means Pickett has a clear path to becoming the Browns’ starting quarterback. As long as he does well in training camp and preseason, the job should be his.
But the big question is: Will Pickett step up and save his career, or is this his last shot to make a mark in the league? Only time will tell.
