BEREA, Ohio — The "legal tampering" portion of NFL free agency opened up on Monday. While the Browns didn't do much in terms of signing early into the discussion portion of the free agency window, they did make some moves, agreeing to a trade to acquire quarterback Kenny Pickett, a league source told News 5.
The Browns are set to acquire Pickett from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round pick, the league source said.
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Cleveland is currently working through their options at quarterback and before agreeing to the trade, Thompson-Robinson was the only QB set to be on the active roster, with Deshaun Watson expected to be sidelined with the re-torn Achilles tendon and Jameis Winston and Bailey Zappe set to become free agents on Wednesday.
Pickett was originally a first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pickett spent two years with the Steelers, where he played 25 games, starting in 24 of them. He went 14-10 with Pittsburgh, throwing for 4,474 yards and 13 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. Pickett requested a trade when the Steelers signed Russell Wilson at the end of the 2023 season, a request that was granted last March and sent Pickett to the Eagles.
Last season, Pickett served as the Eagles' backup to Jalen Hurts, playing in five total games and starting in one. In that time, Pickett went 1-0, and threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns while throwing one interception.
He now joins his third team in four seasons, and he comes to the Browns as presumably a backup for Cleveland.
Thompson-Robinson had bounced between QB3 and QB1 during his time with Cleveland. Initially selected by the Browns in the fifth round of the 2023 draft, Thompson-Robinson played in 15 games for the Browns, starting in five of them. The young quarterback went 1-4, throwing for a total of 880 yards, one touchdown and 10 interceptions over the past two seasons.
While the Browns and Eagles trade has been agreed to, it can not be finalized until the start of the league new year on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
