Kenny Pickett traded to Raiders for 5th-round pick; Dillon Gabriel moves into No. 2 QB role

Kenny Pickett was unable to jump-start his career in a short stint with the Browns.Maybe he'll have better luck in Las Vegas.The Browns agreed to trade Pickett to the Raiders on Monday night for a 2026 fifth-round draft pick, the team announced. The trade is pending a physical.With Pickett on the move, the Browns will go with rookie Dillon Gabriel as the top backup to starting quarterback Joe Flacco when the season opens Sept. 7 against the Bengals at Huntington Bank Field. Rookie Shedeur Sanders will be the No. 3.The Browns cut journeyman Tyler Huntley on Sunday.The Raiders entered the market for a backup quarterback after Aidan O'Connell sustained a broken wrist Saturday night in the preseason finale. He's expected to miss six-to-eight weeks. Pickett will back up starter Geno Smith.The Browns were prepared to go into the season with four quarterbacks but used the surplus to add a draft pick. In March, the Browns sent backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick to the Eagles for Pickett. Thompson-Robinson was cut by the Eagles over the weekend.Pickett, 27, joined the Browns determined to win the starting job. He was the No. 20 pick of the Steelers in 2022 and has gone 15-10 as a starter.He asked to be traded before the 2024 season after losing his job with the Steelers. He was sent to the Eagles and won a Super Bowl as Jalen Hurts' backup. Pickett is the second player in the last 30 seasons to be traded at least three times within his first four seasons, following quarterback Sam Howell, who reached the mark Sunday, according to NFL Network.Pickett's bid to win the starting job with the Browns ended prematurely when he sustained a hamstring injury July 26 during practice. He was unable to play in the preseason and missed team drills for weeks.Coach Kevin Stefanski announced Sunday that Pickett would be available for Week 1, and he was expected to be the No. 2 quarterback, although Stefanski said he hadn't made that decision.The Browns apparently saw enough from Gabriel, including in two preseason games, to be comfortable with a rookie being one snap from playing. Gabriel, a third-round pick who spent six years in college, went 25-for-37 (67.6 percent) for 272 yards, a touchdown, an interception, a fumbled handoff, two sacks and an 86.8 passer rating in two preseason games. He led two touchdown and three field goal drives in less than three quarters.Gabriel was asked about trying to win the No. 2 job Saturday after the preseason finale vs. the Rams and said that wasn't his focus."Honestly, I don't see it like that," he said. "It's you want to continue to build depth as a QB room, but also as a team. I want to be as best as I possibly can be and then bring others with me."And the best way we can support Joe is creating a healthy environment in the QB room. How can we best support him? Whether it's asking certain questions within week to week, talking through things, supporting his conversations, and then when we get out there you just want to have an environment where everyone can be at their best. And that's by me just coming out every single day, pushing our guys and that's everyone in between and trying to get better because we got two weeks. It's not really a choice. You gotta go do it."General manager Andrew Berry and the front office view quarterbacks as valuable commodities, which is why they were willing to keep four on the 53-man roster. Part of the value is the potential to trade them for assets.Berry made a similar move before the 2023 season when he sent No. 2 quarterback Joshua Dobbs to the Cardinals. That left Thompson-Robinson, a rookie fifth-round pick, as the backup to Deshaun Watson. Thompson-Robinson was overmatched when he made an unexpected start in Week 4 for an injured Watson.Berry wound up adding journeyman P.J. Walker, who started two games, then signed Flacco off his couch in November. Flacco saved the season by throwing for 300 yards in four straight December wins as the Browns made the playoffs.The Browns are scheduled to have 10 picks in the 2026 draft: their picks in the first five rounds, a first-rounder from Jacksonville, the fifth-rounder from the Raiders, sixth-rounders from the Lions and Jets and a seventh-rounder from Seattle.The Browns travel to Las Vegas on Nov. 23.Gabriel has provided reason to trust him. The Browns liked his accuracy and decision-making during his college career, especially last season at Oregon, and those qualities were on display against the Rams. He got rid of the ball quickly and delivered it on target.Gabriel was particularly impressive in the two-minute drill to end the first half. He got the ball at the 14-yard line with 1:52 left and went 9-for-11 for 86 yards, ending the drive with a 16-yard out to receiver Jamari Thrash on third-and-6 and a 3-yard touchdown to receiver Gage Larvadain."It's an 11-man operation there, guys getting open, getting the ball out on time," Stefanski said. "Did a nice job in a couple different concepts, worked the middle of the field, but I was pleased with how that group finished the half."Gabriel, 24, said things get simplified in a two-minute scenario."It's just understanding the situation," he said. "We've continued to harp on it throughout camp. We've gotten reps at it in different situations, end of game, end of half. The situation changes and evolves, so you have to be cognizant of that every time you're going play to play."And I think as a unit, we've done a really good job of talking about it. Then guys — not only the quarterback, but O-line, receivers, running back, tight end — being just very aware of what the situation was. And I love that for the guys. We all came together and made it happen."The post Kenny Pickett traded to Raiders for 5th-round pick; Dillon Gabriel moves into No. 2 QB role first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.