Browns trade for Kenny Pickett, move DTR

       The Cleveland Browns didn't leap into action on the first day of free agency as it was more of a short jaunt with the surprising acquisition of quarterback Kenny Pickett from the Philadelphia Eagles.

Cleveland traded reserve quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round draft pick which originally belonged to the Detroit Lions and was obtained for Za'Darius Smith at the trade deadline, for Pickett, who will turn twenty-seven in June.

Pickett was the first-round selection by the Steelers in the 2022 draft and started twelve games in each of his two seasons as a Steeler.

Pickett won fourteen of those starts but threw thirteen interceptions with thirteen touchdowns and was viewed as a disappointing selection with Pittsburgh trading Pickett to the Eagles before last season with a fourth-rounder in 2024 in return for a 2024 third-rounder and two 2025 seventh-round choices.

Pickett appeared in five games (two touchdowns, one interception, two hundred ninety-one yards) for the Eagles championship-winning squad, starting the season's final game against Dallas, winning a meaningless game to avoid injury to Jalen Hurts.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson was the Browns fifth-round selection in 2023 and started five games in two seasons as a Brown, throwing one touchdown and a jaw-dropping ten interceptions.

Thompson-Robinson completed only fifty-two percent of his pass attempts and showed an inability to get the football downfield, so with the Browns tossing in the towel on the DeShaun Watson regime, Thompson-Robinson's skills aren't in sync with whomever the Browns would decide to start at quarterback next season.

The Browns basically traded Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a few games of Za'Darius Smith for Kenny Pickett and while those few games weren't a loss, trading a fifth-rounder  (even if it is near the end of the round) seemed a bit much, especially when the Browns are expected to add a few compensation picks in the sixth round, which would have been a bit more palatable.

I'm assuming the Browns are bringing Kenny Pickett in as a backup and not as a challenger for the starting position, so the trade is nothing I'm going to scream about, especially since Cleveland found a taker for Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

Under these circumstances, I'm okay with the trade, although not in love with it because of the loss of the fifth-round draft pick.

I don't expect to see Kenny Pickett taking many snaps for the Cleveland Browns but if he is things are really problematic in Cleveland.