The team sent Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round draft pick to Philly to complete the trade, according to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot.
CLEVELAND — The Browns have finally made a move as NFL free agency gets underway, although they didn’t technically sign a player.
According to multiple reports, including from Mary Kay Cabot of 3News media partner Cleveland.com, the Browns have acquired quarterback Kenny Pickett from the Eagles. In exchange, Cleveland sent fellow QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick back to Philadelphia.
The arrival of Pickett comes with the Browns’ quarterback situation in more flux than it’s been in years, as high-priced starter Deshaun Watson (who had been ineffective in limited playing time) is expected to miss “significant” time this coming season as he continues to recover from a torn Achilles. The team is also coming off a 3-14 campaign in 2024, giving them a chance to potentially draft a QB with the second overall pick in April.
Where might Pickett fit into Cleveland’s plans under center? Quite frankly, it’s hard to tell right now.
A former first-round selection himself out of Pittsburgh, Pickett spent the first two years of his NFL career with the hometown Steelers, but although he finished a solid 14-10 as a starter, he struggled to establish a presence with the Black and Gold. From 2022-23, Pickett threw for 4,474 yards with just 13 touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions, along with a 78.8 passer rating that ranked near the bottom of the league.
By the end of Pickett’s sophomore campaign, the Steelers were back in the playoffs, but their would-be franchise QB had essentially been benched in favor of veteran Mason Rudolph. After Pittsburgh signed former All-Pro Russell Wilson, Pickett requested a trade, and was dealt to Philly as part of a package that netted the Steelers third and seventh-round draft picks.
Now officially relegated to a backup role, Pickett spent all of 2024 as the Eagles’ No. 2 quarterback, completing just under 60% of his 42 pass attempts for 291 yards, two TDs, and one pick. He started for an injured Jalen Hurts during a Week 16 win over the Dallas Cowboys, and even saw mop-up action in the Super Bowl as Philadelphia blew out Kansas City 40-22.
Swapping out for Pickett will be Thompson-Robinson, a 2022 fifth-round pick who showed promise as a dual threat at UCLA but could not put it together in Cleveland. In 15 games (five starts) across two seasons, the 25-year-old completed just 52.6% of his passes for 880 yards, one touchdown, and 10 interceptions. His 45.2 passer rating is the lowest in team history among QBs with at least 100 attempts.
With Watson down for the foreseeable future, Pickett technically becomes the only active quarterback on the Browns’ roster with 2024 backup Jameis Winston currently a free agent. Cabot says the 26-year-old will be given the chance to compete for playing time, but that Cleveland is still expected to bring in a more-established veteran “who can start until their rookie is ready,” further pointing towards the possibility of the club taking a QB early in the draft.
The fifth-round pick the Browns are sending to the Eagles is not actually their own, but rather the one they got from the Detroit Lions in the trade for Za’Darius Smith last November. Cleveland now has eight picks in the 2025 draft, with none in the fifth round.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report the news of Monday’s trade.