Overview

• Las Vegas is sending a 2026 fifth-round pick for Pickett, who steps in behind Geno Smith after Aidan O’Connell’s fractured wrist sidelined him for six to eight weeks.
• Cleveland enters Week 1 with Joe Flacco starting and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders as the remaining quarterbacks on the active depth chart.
• Pickett missed the preseason with a hamstring injury and leaves Cleveland five months after arriving in a March trade from Philadelphia.
• Head coach Kevin Stefanski rejected talk that he is sabotaging Sanders, saying he is committed to the rookie’s development.
• The Browns have not publicly set the backup pecking order behind Flacco, and local reporting indicates a veteran addition such as Tyler Huntley could be considered before the roster deadline.