Well, that didn't take long. The Browns quarterback room is a hot mess after drafting both Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, thus adding to the likes of Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. Whoever wins that job is a mystery at this point in the offseason, but Pickett is the betting favorite. Just a few days after drafting Sanders in the fifth round, the Browns were forced to make a decision on Pickett's fifth-year option.
There was only one issue, of course, and it's that Browns GM Andrew Berry didn't know he had to made the call on Pickett's option. The confusion is easy to explain. Pickett played for the Eagles last season, and they could've made the choice on Pickett's option earlier. However, with the deadline for such decisions rapidly approaching, Pickett hasn't been informed whether his fifth year will be picked up.
"So that would have been last year with (the Philadelphia Eagles)," Berry said. "You have to make that decision after year three, since he's already in year four. That's not a decision that we make."
Browns have a tough call to make on Kenny Pickett
Now, if Pickett had actually played four full seasons to this point, Berry would be correct. Unfortunately for the Browns, that's not the case. But fortunately for Cleveland, the actual choice they'll be forced to make...isn't all that difficult. Pickett isn't a starting-caliber quarterback on a playoff team. The Steelers knew that, and so did the Eagles. That's why both teams traded him, and why he'll get a chance to start in Cleveland. The Browns aren't a playoff team.
Pickett also hasn't responded well to competition in his brief NFL career. Per reports, Pickett wanted out of Pittsburgh when the Steelers signed Russell Wilson last offseason, in part because he wasn't guaranteed starters' reps in training camp. A lot has changed since then for Pickett. He was dealt to the Eagles, where he won a Super Bowl as the backup to Jalen Hurts.
Will Kenny Pickett earn the starting job in Cleveland?
In Cleveland, he will compete for the starting QB job with Flacco. Sanders and Gabriel will more than likely take backup or third-string reps, though I wouldn't put it past the Browns to play three quarterbacks in one season. They've done it several times in recent memory.
Because the Browns are unlikely to pick up Pickett's option, he is essentially playing on an expiring deal. Cleveland is his best and last chance to prove he is a starting QB in the NFL. The odds are stacked against the Pitt product, but we wish him the best.