Kenny Pickett is on his third career team, and he could find himself on the move again next offseason. The former first-round quarterback will head into next season as a pending free agent. 
The Browns will decline Pickett’s 2026 fifth-year option, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. That comes as no surprise, of course. The former Steelers draftee is in position to compete for playing time on his new team, but he is far from a lock to handle starting duties. Picking up the option would have represented a $22.12MM commitment on the part of the Browns for 2026.
Widely seen as the most pro-ready prospect at the position in the 2022 draft class – one not held in high regard – Pickett was the first quarterback to hear his name called. That put him in position to handle starting duties right away in an attempt to represent a long-term Ben Roethlisberger successor for the Steelers. Things did not go according to plan, though, and the decision to bench him through the 2023 postseason after returning from injury signaled a departure could be coming.
Indeed, part of the Steelers’ efforts to rebuild their QB room last spring included dealing Pickett to the Eagles. In Philadelphia, he operated as Jalen Hurts‘ backup and made one start. Instead of remaining in Pennsylvania for 2025, though, the 26-year-old will spend the year in Cleveland. The Browns traded Dorian Thompson-Robinson as well as a fifth-round pick to the Eagles to acquire Pickett; that move could very well prove to be a one-year rental.
The Browns’ new-look quarterback depth chart consists of Deshaun Watson (whose Achilles tear will cost him most, if not all, of 2025), Joe Flacco (who returned to the team after a one-year absence) and a pair of rookies. Cleveland selected Dillon Gabriel in the third round of the the draft, and followed that move by trading up in the fifth round to acquire Shedeur Sanders. The Browns did not plan on making multiple additions during the draft, but Gabriel and/or Sanders could find themselves in the team’s long-term plans depending on how they develop.
Pickett, meanwhile, will spend training camp vying for the QB1 gig. He has 25 starts to his name – a figure which falls well short of Flacco’s experience but obviously makes him more of a known commodity than the team’s rookies. If Pickett winds up atop the depth chart and has a successful stint this season, he could earn a new Browns commitment. For now, though, his future beyond 2025 is uncertain.
Kenny either glowingly pulls a Darnold or becomes a journeyman a well paid one
Wild that Pickett is only a year younger than Darnold.
That blows my mind
@sentinelatl Pickett will be traded again. Didn’t they have 4 qbs last year probably be for someone that isn’t making the team. If he didn’t ask for a trade. he most likely would’ve been the steelers backup.
He just might be the one who stays since Flacco has higher trade value for teams needing a starter-caliber QB come September (training camp injuries).
@sherminator. Yeah they could try that. i know the last years they collected quarterbacks looks like the same strategy is in place, but I doubt it works maybe could get a fringe player for flacco that’s not going to make the roster. Pickett at the deadline if he’s like Dobbs for someone that needs a backup, but either not going to move the needle much
Pickett is being given a real chance though.
Pickett may be their best QB on the roster this year (which isn’t saying a lot)
He easily could be
He throws it, they pick it.
They could have just kept Baker Mayfield.
The Browns record of developing young QB’s is horrific. Mayfield improved greatly after leaving. The Browns have a systemic problem.
Baker was so immature and wasn’t open to coaching. Took him being traded then cut by two teams before he grew up to be the QB he is now.Baker has admitted as such….don’t sleep on Dillon Gabriel as the starter here
Can he pick it?
Garrett will be stuck in purgatory for another 4 yrs.He probably doesn’t care seeing he just got $40 mil a year.lol
Even if he pans out, they’ll find a way to screw it up, like letting him leave in free agency four years later. Then they go off & trade for another overpaid veteran. Maybe not 45 year old Aaron Rodgers, but they’ll find a way to attempt an expensive improvement. That’s just their style now, and they don’t learn from their mistakes.