The NFL offseason is off to a hot start with plenty of big names moving around the league. While it may not be the most notable quarterback news of the day, the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to a quarterback swap centered around Kenny Pickett and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report that the Browns are sending Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick in exchange for the Super Bowl-winning backup quarterback.
Impact on the Browns
Cleveland has more questions than answers regarding their future at quarterback and Kenny Pickett will be given the chance to compete for a starting job. Deshaun Watson continues to recover from his Achilles tear and does not have a clear recovery timeline just yet. While the organization restructured his contract to ease some cap implications, Watson is still under contract until the 2026 season. Even outside of the Achilles injury, there is plenty to suggest he is not the long-term answer with his level of play being extremely underwhelming.
Pickett spent the first two seasons of his career as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ primary starter and had mixed results. While he led the team to a 7-5 record in each season he was the starter, it became clear that he was not quite the quality the Steelers were searching for. Pickett was then traded to the Philadelphia Eagles and served as Jalen Hurts’ primary backup this season.
The New Jersey native suited up as the starter for one game this season while Jalen Hurts was concussed and saw some action when the games were out of reach. This includes during the Super Bowl, in which Pickett took the final knee for the Eagles in their 40-22 rout of the Chiefs.
At 26 years old, Pickett has plenty of time to turn his career around. Players like Sam Darnold and Geno Smith have been recent examples of how the outlook for a player can change in a new location and Pickett will look to venture down this same path. It will be interesting to see if Cleveland elects to bring in any other quarterback options, but Pickett is an interesting addition to their quarterback room.
Impact on the Eagles
While Kenny Pickett was completely serviceable as a backup quarterback, this is not a loss the Eagles will lose sleep over. Philadelphia selected Tanner McKee with the 188th pick in the 2023 draft and has been impressed with his development. He shined in the preseason and created an internal debate among fans on who the best option at backup quarterback would be if Jalen Hurts were to miss an extended stretch. After Pickett suffered a rib injury during his lone start, McKee stepped in and looked plenty capable.
The Stanford product served as the starting quarterback for the final game of the regular season against the Giants in which he completed 27 of his 41 pass attempts for 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns without a turnover. McKee is still 24 years old and has shown enough to give the organization confidence he could be the potential long-term backup.
In addition, the Eagles shaved $2.6 million off the salary cap, added a fifth-round draft pick, and took a flier on Dorian Thompson-Robinson. While there are fair questions about his arm strength and decision-making across the 15 games of NFL action he has seen action in, there is a case to be made the stylistically he is a better backup for Jalen Hurts. Thompson-Robinson is a legitimate running threat in a way Pickett nor McKee will ever be.
Philadelphia will begin their journey to repeat as Super Bowl champions and will have far larger roster voids to fill than at backup quarterback moving forward.
