The Browns are looking for a starting quarterback this season, the seemingly endless quest for a franchise that’s started 40 players at that position since the team’s rebirth in 1999.
Cleveland made its opening move to find a starter by trading third-year player Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round draft pick to Philadelphia for the Eagles’ Kenny Pickett.
Pickett is a season removed from being a full-time starter in the NFL, going 7-5 in his final year with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023.
This pathway to becoming a starter is a familiar theme now after multiple successful quarterbacks last season spent at least one year as a reserve before earning their second chance in another team’s lineup.
Pickett is trying to learn from one player who did just that, and the fourth-year quarterback admitted that new Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith is the player he’s leaning on to prepare for this year.
> “I have so much respect for his journey and what he went through, and he just stayed at it. He works hard. Being able to watch him work every day, bounce things off of him and his career, what he’s been through,” Pickett said.
Pickett admitted that Smith is someone he’ll talk with this season, learning how Smith pivoted from being a full-time starter to spending multiple years as a backup quarterback with three different franchises.
Smith received his second chance with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022, replacing Russell Wilson after he left for the Denver Broncos.
In Seattle, Smith made consecutive Pro Bowl rosters and guided the Seahawks to a 28-24 record during five seasons with the franchise.
Seattle traded Smith to the Raiders this season, reuniting him with former coach Pete Carroll in Las Vegas.
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