Browns send Kenny Pickett to Raiders for a fifth-round pick

If Kenny Pickett and Sam Howell were in a competition to see who will be traded the most times, they’d both be winning. Or losing.

Pickett was traded for a third time on Monday, from the Browns to the Raiders. Via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the Browns will receive a 2026 fifth-round pick.

Pickett, a first-round pick in 2022, originally was traded by the Steelers to the Eagles. In March, the Eagles traded him to the Browns, for quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick.

Howell also has been traded three times. From Washington to Seattle to Minnesota to Philly.

We’ve said for months (blind squirrel alert) that Pickett looked to be the odd man out in Cleveland. He was the placeholder, before they signed fan favorite Joe Flacco and drafted Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.

The Browns had been floating the idea that they’d carry four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. That never made sense. As evidenced by the fact that, in the end, the Browns didn’t do it.

Instead, they’ll proceed with Flacco, Gabriel, and Sanders. Along with the inevitability that Deshaun Watson will show up at some point this season with a clean bill of health, and a request to be put on the active roster or released.

Pickett will now be the No. 2 to Geno Smith in Las Vegas, at least until Aidan O’Connell returns from a broken wrist. He’s expected to miss 6-8 weeks.