CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns aren’t keeping four quarterbacks afterall.
They planned to, unless someone made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. When the Raiders offered them a fifth-round pick in 2026 for second-team quarterback Kenny Pickett, they jumped at the chance.
It leaves the Browns with Joe Flacco as their starter, and rookies Dillon Gabriel, their third-round pick, and Shedeur Sanders, their fifth-round pick, as their backups. Both rookies played well enough at times in preseason to make Pickett expendable, especially Gabriel during Saturday’s dress rehearsal game, the 19-17 victory over the Rams.
The Raiders developed a pressing need for a backup to quarterback to Geno Smith on Saturday night when their No. 2, Aidan O’Connell, fractured his wrist in their 20-10 loss to the Cardinals. He’s expected to be out at least eight weeks.
“He’s hurt and it is going to be a while,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said. “It’s a huge blow for us.”
Rookie Cam Miller replaced O’Connell, but the Raiders wanted a more experienced backup.
Acquired in a trade in March with the Eagles for quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick in 2025, Pickett came in as a favorite to the win the starting job as the Browns bridge quarterback, but suffered a hamstring injury on Day 4 of camp, and lost his chance for the Week 1 start. He missed team drills over the next 10 days, which paved the way for Flacco to earn the Week 1 start.
While Pickett and Gabriel were both sidelined with hamstring injuries, Sanders made an excellent start in the preseason opener against the Panthers, throwing two elite-level touchdown passes to first-year receiver Kaden Davis. He went 14 of 23 for 138 yards, with the two TDs and no interceptions for a stellar 106.8 rating. He put three touchdowns on the board in his nine drive and gave Browns fans hope that they may have found their quarterback of the future.
But Sanders suffered a strained oblique muscle in the first joint practice against the Eagles on Aug. 13, and was forced to sit out those two sessions and the second preseason game there on Aug. 16. With Pickett still ailing and Flacco resting, Gabriel started that game and played very well in some respects, but also turned the ball over twice, once on a 75-yard pick-six that wasn’t entirely his fault, and once on a botched exchange between him and running back Pierre Strong Jr. On the interception, tight end Blake Whiteheart ran his route too deep on a levels concept, winding up too close to receiver Diontae Johnson near the left sideline. Whiteheart also pulled back his hands, enabling the Eagles rookie safety Andrew to swoop in and pick it off.
Gabriel readily admitted he should’ve thrown the ball away, but showed other good things during that game, including mobility, arm strength and command of the offense.
_This post will be updated._
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