Browns Trade Pitch Swaps Kenny Pickett for $27.5 Million QB

The Cleveland Browns already have as crowded of a quarterback room as any in the NFL, but several analysts continue to suggest new additions and/or changes to the position group ahead of — or during — training camp.

Camp begins later this month, and Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel all ostensibly have the opportunity to win the starting job. Meanwhile, Deshaun Watson waits in the wings rehabilitating from a twice-torn Achilles tendon.

Cleveland must paint an orderly picture of its offensive scheme out of the chaos is its current collections of QBs. The general thought is that either Pickett or Flacco will begin the season as the starter, unless Gabriel or Sanders blows them out of the water across the six weeks between the start of training camp and Week 1. Both Flacco and Pickett have winning records, multiple years of starting experience and the proven sort of prototypical arm talent required to succeed in Kevin Stefanski’s system.

That said, if there is a potentially better option than both of them out there, it might behoove the Browns to trade either Pickett or Flacco to acquire that player. Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry could be fighting for their jobs this season after a three-win campaign in 2024, and thus are incentivized to at least try to win for as long as makes sense in 2025.

If there is, in fact, an upgrade to Pickett and/or Flacco currently available on the free-agent or trade markets, it is probably Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons.

Falcons Looking to Move Off Kirk Cousins Via Trade

GettyQuarterback Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons.

Cory Woodruff of USA TODAY authored a trade proposal on Thursday, June 10, that flips Cousins to Cleveland in exchange for Pickett. Woodruff also threw Browns reserve defensive tackle Shelby Harris in the deal.

Neither Joe Flacco nor Kenny Pickett inspires a ton of confidence as a 17-game starter, and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders feel destined to sit on the bench for a year. If Cleveland is serious about winning in 2025, swinging a trade for Cousins is the clearest path.

If the Browns come to the conclusion we think they will, Cousins and his former Minnesota offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski will reunite in the Dawg Pound to compete in the AFC North. Cleveland could send one of its veteran quarterbacks (Kenny Pickett?) back to the Falcons to back up Michael Penix Jr. Atlanta could also try and get a run-stuffing defensive tackle as part of the deal as opposed to a draft pick.

Browns Can Probably Get Kirk Cousins From Falcons for Kenny Pickett Straight Up Considering Financials

GettyQuarterback Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons. 

The Browns maybe wouldn’t have to including Harris in the deal, as Atlanta is fairly desperate to get off Cousins’ contract. Cleveland picking up even a meaningful portion of it in 2025 via a trade would be doing the Falcons a significant favor from a financial perspective.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter predicted in April that teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings may have been, or potentially still could be, suitors for Cousins. Schefter floated the idea of any team dealing for the soon-to-be 37-year-old QB picking up perhaps $10 million of the $27.5 million in base salary Atlanta owes Cousins this season.

The Falcons chose to pick up a $10 million roster bonus on Cousins earlier this spring, presumably with an eye toward retaining him as an asset and trading him further down the line. Atlanta inked the four-time Pro Bowler to a $180 million contract last offseason coming off an Achilles tendon injury.