Browns make stunning Kenny Pickett trade to Raiders as backup quarterback role remains wide open
The Cleveland Browns are not carrying four quarterbacks on their -man roster after all following a stunning agreement on Monday night The Browns dealt veteran Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a fifth-round NFL Draft pick The Raiders were desperate for a backup quarterback to Geno Smith whom they traded for earlier this offseason with the Seattle Seahawks to reunite him with his old head coach Pete Carroll Aidan O Connell fractured his wrist during the Raiders preseason finale sidelining him for weeks CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS COMO Connell was expected to back up Smith this season but that lengthy absence forced Las Vegas to look elsewhere Carroll mentioned wanting someone with starting experience and the Raiders get that in the fourth-year man out of Pitt Pickett has starts under his NFL belt going over that span with the Pittsburgh Steelers However he couldn t solidify the starting job there ultimately leading to a transaction to the Philadelphia Eagles before the season It was there that Pickett backed up Jalen Hurts on the Eagles way to a Super Bowl LIX triumph last season BROWNS CUT PRO BOWL QUARTERBACK AS UNIT TRIMS ROSTER AHEAD OF REGULAR SEASONPickett was then traded from Philadelphia to Cleveland as the Browns were assembling their quarterback room with Deshaun Watson sidelined by a torn Achilles Pickett was competing with veteran Joe Flacco already named the Week starter by head coach Kevin Stefanski as well as rookies Dillon Gabriel third round and Shedeur Sanders fifth round A hamstring injury suffered early in training camp cost Pickett valuable time to compete for his roster spot He didn t play in any of the company s preseason games though Stefanski mentioned after the finale against the Los Angeles Rams that he thought Pickett would return in time for Week With Flacco already locked in as the starter the question of who Stefanski would choose as the Browns backup gained extra attention especially with the national spotlight on Sanders the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders ESPN lately disclosed that the Browns were preparing to carry four quarterbacks on their -man roster but the pact changes that entire situation Tyler Snoop Huntley brought in after Pickett and Gabriel dealt with early training camp injuries was reportedly waived by the Browns following his preseason action So while Pickett figures to step in as the Raiders backup quarterback to start the season who will sit behind Flacco on the Browns depth chart will remain a topic of speculation until Stefanski makes the call Sanders strengthened his incident with an impressive preseason debut against the Carolina Panthers completing of passes for yards and two touchdowns along with four carries for yards Injury kept him out of the club s second tournament but he returned in the second half of the finale against the Rams where he struggled finishing just of for yards while taking five sacks Gabriel after missing the opener played in the final two preseason matchups He completed of passes for yards with one touchdown and one interception Against the Rams he went of for yards and threw his lone touchdown of the preseason The Browns roster along with every other NFL group must be finalized by Tuesday s p m ET deadline Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter