Browns QB Kenny Pickett Receives Bad Roster Status Update

The NFL season continues creeping closer and the Cleveland Browns are gearing up for the start of training camp and preseason action. At this point, all eyes are focused on the Browns’ four-man quarterback competition.

Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel are set to battle for the starting quarterback job. No one knows who will come out on top.

Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland coaching staff will be giving each player a chance to prove that they deserve to play. Winning the Week 1 job is the current goal, but it would be reasonable to expect to see multiple quarterbacks play for the Browns this season.

Pickett has received a lot of hype throughout the offseason. There have been quite a few reports about him having a good chance of winning the starting job.

While that has led some to think that he’s truly competing, there are some who aren’t buying that storyline.

Matt Fontana, a radio host in Cleveland, spoke out with his thoughts on the matter. He believes that the Browns are forcing the storyline out to improve Pickett’s trade value.

“They’re continuing to push that narrative of Kenny Pickett, so they can trade him back out. I think they want to push that ‘Oh, Kenny can take this job.’ If the [Philadelphia] Eagles, who needed a quality backup and decided a guy named Tanner McKee was better than Kenny Pickett for the backup QB role, what does that say about Kenny Pickett?” Fontana said.

After being selected with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pickett was viewed as a potential franchise quarterback. His career has not gone according to plan thus far.

In the 30 career games he has played with the Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles, Pickett has completed 62.4 percent of his pass attempts for 4,765 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He has also picked up 306 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

On the outside looking in, it seems very likely that Cleveland will trade one of its quarterbacks. Deshaun Watson is also still stuck on the roster with a huge contract that has become unmovable.

There is a minuscule chance the Browns would consider heading into the regular season with five total quarterbacks on their roster.

Fontana believes that Pickett will be the odd man out. He’ll be given a chance in the coming weeks, but he has a lot of work to do to win the starting job and a roster spot.

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