Ex-Steelers’ Kenny Pickett Laughed at on Social Media After Getting Traded to Raiders

After quarterback Aidan O’Connell suffered a wrist injury Saturday, trade speculation linked Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Skylar Thompson to the Las Vegas Raiders. But instead of trading for the Steelers depth quarterback, the Raiders traded for a former Steelers signal-caller — Kenny Pickett.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday night the Raiders acquired Pickett from the Cleveland Browns. The Browns will receive a fifth-round pick in the deal.

Schefter posted a few more tweets in reaction to the trade. That was hardly the only tweet discussing the newest Pickett trade on X.

Las Vegas will be Pickett’s fourth NFL organization despite the fact that he’s only beginning his fourth NFL season. In the past 18 months, Pickett has been traded three times. He’s been traded twice since early March.

The quarterback receive a lot of teasing on social media Monday night for getting traded to the Raiders.

Cleveland Browns Trade Kenny Pickett to Las Vegas Raiders

Pickett’s tenure with the Browns lasted less than six months. Even counting the preseason, Pickett never played a game for the Browns.

The fourth-year quarterback never really had a chance to compete in Cleveland because of a hamstring injury. Pickett suffered the ailment on July 26 and then never fully returned to practice with the team.

He missed the entire preseason because of the injury.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters Sunday that he thought Pickett would be ready to play in Week 1. Stefanski also suggested Pickett would compete with Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders to be QB2 for the Browns when the regular season begins.

Cleveland is set to start veteran Joe Flacco in Week 1 versus the Cincinnati Bengals.

But it now appears Stefanski’s comments were an attempt to drive up Pickett’s trade price. If that was the tactic, it kind of worked.

On March 12, the Browns sent a fifth-round pick and quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson to the Philadelphia Eagles for Pickett. Flipping Pickett to the Raiders, Cleveland didn’t receive another player in return but got back essentially the same draft capital.

That’s not bad considering Pickett hasn’t proven to be completely recovered from the hamstring injury.

The Steelers drafted Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. After his second season, he requested a trade after the team signed Russell Wilson.

Pittsburgh sent Pickett to the Eagles for a 2024 third-rounder and two 2025 seventh-round picks. The Steelers also included a 2024 fourth-rounder in the deal.

Pickett Projected to be Raiders No. 2 QB

The 27-year-old quarterback will likely have to continue enduring jokes about his third trade in 18 months. But Pickett still emerges as a winner in the trade from the Browns.

Since Cleveland acquired Pickett, they also signed Flacco and drafted Gabriel and Sanders. With four signal-callers, the Browns quarterback room was a bit of a circus this summer.

Pickett gets to leave that behind for a team that’s likely to slot him in as their backup behind Geno Smith.

The only other healthy quarterback the Raiders possess on their roster is sixth-round rookie Cam Miller.

Pickett will have to learn the Las Vegas offense quickly. Otherwise, if he gets into a game early in the season, he could be in trouble.

But Pickett is much closer to starting again with the Raiders that he potentially was in Cleveland.