Kenny Pickett Eyes Browns' QB1 Job, 'Not Going There to Hang Out' After Eagles Trade

Kenny Pickett has no intentions of being a backup quarterback with the Cleveland Browns.

"That’s the plan, man [to start]," he told Jerry DiPaola of TribLive.com. "I'm not going there to hang out. I want to go play. I'm excited, been working hard for it, taking it a day at a time."

Pickett, 26, offered a mixed bag for the Philadelphia Eagles when called into action during the 2024 campaign, throwing for 291 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while completing just 59.5 percent of his passes and taking four sacks.

He didn't look dramatically different from the player who struggled in his first two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers (4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 62.6 completion percentage, 50 sacks taken, 14-10 record as the starter).

That, combined with the fact that Tanner McKee looked good when called upon this past season (323 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions in two appearances), made it seem unlikely that the Eagles would commit the sort of money that accompanies a fifth-year option to the backup quarterback to keep him beyond the 2025 season.

They verified that belief when they traded him to the Browns for quarterback  Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-rounder.

In Cleveland, Pickett feels like a short-term option while Deshaun Watson is out injured due to a recovery from a ruptured Achilles, especially if the team addresses the position at this year's draft. Pickett has a chance to show NFL teams that he can still be a viable starter, but nobody expects him to stick around Cleveland for more than one season, and whether he even wins the starting gig is up in the air—the team also added Joe Flacco this offseason.

"I've heard nothing but great things about Joe," Pickett told DiPaola. "I've been watching him since I was 10 years old. Total respect for Joe, what he's done and I'm excited to get to work with him, too."