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After an eventful first half of the offseason, the Cleveland Browns' quarterback competition will be one of the most-watched positional battles of the 2025 training camp period. With four names in the mix, at least one player is likely on the move. Based on the early indications, Kenny Pickett seems like the Browns' top early trade candidate.
Pickett, 27, joined the team in March via trade. The Browns acquired him from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round pick. Philadelphia used the pick in another trade with the Kansas City Chiefs to move up one spot and take linebacker Jihaad Campbell in the first round.
By trading for Pickett, the Browns gave themselves three quarterbacks to work with. DeShaun Watson returned as the incumbent starter, albeit likely out for the entire 2025 season with an Achilles injury. Cleveland also signed 40-year-old Joe Flacco in free agency to compete for the starting job. The room got even more crowded in April when general manager Andrew Berry added Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft.
With training camp on deck, the Browns have only gotten a brief look at all their quarterbacks during offseason minicamp. While they certainly want to keep a veteran around to guide their rookies, Flacco appears to have the early edge over Pickett. Despite his age, Flacco has a much longer track record of success and familiarity with the organization, having won the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year award with Cleveland.
As a former first-round pick, Pickett has multiple seasons of starting experience under his belt. He also joins the team with championship experience, having won a ring with the Eagles. However, he is clearly the Browns' top trade candidate entering their 2025 offseason training camp.
Kenny Pickett is Browns' top trade candidate
Unless Pickett has an unbelievable training camp, he will likely not be a part of the Browns' final roster. Few teams keep three quarterbacks on their roster, let alone four. While Watson will spend the year on injured reserve, Cleveland still has to narrow down its list between Flacco, Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders.
As a fifth-round pick, Sanders would seem like the odd man out in any other situation. Yet, the Browns' quarterback room is anything but ordinary. Sanders' uniquely unfortunate draft fall suddenly makes him a first-round prospect with the conditions of a fifth-round pick. Instead of being the franchise quarterback many saw him as, Sanders now finds himself in a neck-and-neck battle with Gabriel. Both players have impressed in their own ways early on, likely keeping both on the team.
The Browns' future lies with either Gabriel or Sanders, but they seem to want both players to begin their careers on the bench behind one of their veterans. That leaves one of Flacco or Pickett to start Week 1, and the other to receive the boot. On paper, the 27-year-old Pickett seems like the better choice, but Flacco appears to be Kevin Stefanski's favorite through the spring. Pickett is still very much in the race, but Flacco has the early lead, according to Cameron Wolfe of the NFL Network.
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“From what I understand, I'd handicap Joe Flacco as the favorite going into training camp, but Kenny Pickett's going to have a chance to steal that job from him,” Wolfe said on the NFL Network. “I think it's more likely that its' either Kenny Pickett or Joe Flacco than it's Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel… I asked Kevin Stefanski on draft day, ‘Are you comfortable with Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett as your starting quarterback?' Without hesitation, he said yes.”
Stacking up the Browns 4-man QB race Joe Flacco vs. Kenny Pickett vs. Shedeur Sanders vs. Dillon Gabriel headed into summer.
For @nflnetwork The Insiders: pic.twitter.com/ATVDYfBjoQ
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) June 25, 2025
As a renowned offensive guru, Stefanski values Flacco's familiarity with his scheme and his previous success running it, Wolfe reported. While every new report on the situation provides a different prediction, the one factor most agree on is that Flacco seems to be atop the offseason depth chart.
Potential Kenny Pickett trade destinations
If Pickett somehow wins the quarterback battle, many assume Flacco would retire upon his release. If that is the case, Pickett is the only asset the Browns can shop after they declared they would not trade either Gabriel or Sanders.
Four years into his career, Pickett is not the player the Pittsburgh Steelers thought he would become when they selected him in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. However, he is still a high-end backup quarterback. He was not asked to do much in 2024, but led the Eagles to a dominant 41-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys in his lone start. There is significant value in having a young, former starter like Pickett on the bench, which many rival teams would be willing to trade for.
A team like the New Orleans Saints, who desperately need quarterback help following Derek Carr's retirement, might be interested in adding a cheap option like Pickett. The Saints claim they are satisfied with rookie Tyler Shough as their starter, but they have no proven signal-callers on the roster, with Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener as the remaining options. Pickett is nobody's first choice, but he can serve as the bridge for a team like New Orleans to bide time while nurturing Shough.
The Green Bay Packers, who were shaky in 2024 without Jordan Love, could also be an option. The Packers' NFC North rivals, the Detroit Lions, are also potential buyers in the market for a backup quarterback. The Lions' current backup, Hendon Hooker, has spent more time on injured reserve than suited up behind Jared Goff.
Should Cleveland move Pickett, it would be his third trade in the last two years. Interestingly, Pickett is still on his rookie deal and only slated to make $2 million in 2025. Given his place on the Browns' depth chart ahead of training camp, that money will likely come out of another team's pocket in 2025.
