Browns Linked to Another QB Trade, But This One Makes Sense

With the Cleveland Browns having four healthy quarterbacks on their roster with training camp around the corner, some have come to the conclusion that they will trade one of them.

After all, it seems somewhat hard to fathom the Browns heading into 2025 with four signal-callers, as they could part ways with one of them and use that extra spot elsewhere on the 53-man roster.

Cleveland traded for Kenny Pickett, signed Joe Flacco and drafted both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders over the past couple of months, and of that quartet, Pickett and Flacco seem to represent the most obvious trade candidates.

Well, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports has envisioned a scenario in which the Browns could move one of the two veterans, and he has named the New Orleans Saints as a logical destination following the retirement of Derek Carr.

“One name that I’ll just throw out there to pay attention to, potentially, Kenny Pickett," Jones said. "... Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett is going to get dealt at some point because they’re not going to carry four quarterbacks on a 53-man roster. ... Someone is going to be expendable. Would it be the veteran Joe Flacco, or would it be Kenny Pickett who is already familiar with the head coach who is there in New Orleans?”

The Saints hired Kellen Moore as their head coach earlier this offseason, and he served as Pickett's offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles this past year.

Given that Flacco just played for the Browns two years ago and led Cleveland to a playoff appearance, the most reasonable avenue seems to be handing Flacco the starting job and then jettisoning Pickett. Sanders and Gabriel could then spend their rookie campaigns learning under Flacco, and perhaps one of them could supplant the 40-year-old under center midseason.