The Cleveland Browns added a quarterback, but it’s left some questioning what the franchise is doing.
The Browns acquired Kenny Pickett, a former first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, from the Philadelphia Eagles for backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round pick.
Pickett spent just one season in Philadelphia, appearing in five games and making one start when Jalen Hurts was sidelined with a concussion. He finished the season 25-for-42 for 291 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.
Pickett will have a chance to start as Deshaun Watson will miss significant time after re-rupturing his Achilles tendon during the offseason.
One NFL analyst, though, called the Browns’ trade for Pickett illogical.
NFL analyst questions why Cleveland Browns traded draft pick to Philadelphia Eagles for Kenny Pickett
ESPN’s Seth Walder questioned why the Browns would expend a draft pick on Pickett as they are up against the cap wall and will pay him more ($2.6 million) than what the Eagles did in 2024 ($2 million).
“The Browns need a quarterback, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t believe that the team — which is highly leveraged against the cap and needs all the draft capital it can muster — ought to be burning picks on someone like Pickett. The former first-rounder — who ranked 20th in QBR his rookie season but dropped to 27th in 2023 before being discarded by the Steelers — has plenty of equivalents who could surely be acquired without giving up a fifth-round pick (and Thompson-Robinson),” Walder writes.
He continues, “Cleveland’s focus at quarterback surely is on the draft, and rightfully so. But the Browns probably could have done just as well, and maybe better (Kirk Cousins?!) without having to make this deal.”
According to OverTheCap.com, the Browns have just $10.8 million in cap space for 2025.
The Browns own the second overall pick in the upcoming draft and could select either Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders as their quarterback of the future, if available.
Watson, who has become one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL since the Browns traded for him, still has two years left on his five-year, $230 million contract.