On March 12th, 2025, the Cleveland Browns traded with the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles to acquire the services of 4th year NFL quarterback and former 1st round pick Kenny Pickett. Pickett was the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The former Pitt Panther was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers to be the successor of future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He was a popular draft pick in the steel city because of his collegiate career at the University of Pittsburgh. But that popularity soon waned when Pickett struggled to meet Pittsburgh fans expectations.

Kenny Pickett in his 2022 rookie season with the Steelers had a 7-5 record as starter. He threw 7 touchdowns with 9 interceptions for 2,404 yards and a quarterback rating of 76.7. The stats are not great, but they are not terrible either. And it is common for NFL rookie quarterbacks to struggle.  The following season is when the relationship Pickett had with the Steelers went south.

In 2023 Pickett had another 7-5 starting record with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He did improve on his touchdowns to interception ratio of 6-4. His quarterback rating also improved to 81.4. But his passing yards declined to 2,070. He had an ankle injury in week 13 at home against the Arizona Cardinals. The Steelers were then forced to start Mason Rudolph, and the team went on to win their final three games of the season and make the playoffs.

The rumor was that before the week 18 season finale at the Baltimore Ravens Kenny Pickett was activated by the Steelers, but he refused to suit up as a backup quarterback for that game. Pickett in the 2024 offseason requested a trade from the Steelers. The Steelers accommodated his request and sent him to the Philadelphia Eagles for a late round draft pick. Pickett won a Super Bowl as Jalen Hurts backup last season. He has now landed in Cleveland and will compete for a starting job with the Browns.

In the last few years NFL fans have seen former first round picks have a resurgence when landing with another team. Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold were examples of that. The Browns are hoping for a similar result by giving Pickett a chance to compete in 2025. And by Kenny Pickett getting that chance is all that he and Cleveland Browns fans can ask for.