The Cleveland Browns were the talk of the league over the course of the 2025 NFL Draft. They first swung the biggest deal of the weekend by trading down from No. 2 overall to No. 5 overall to add Michigan Wolverines defender Mason Graham and a wealth of draft capital.
There was also all the drama surrounding Shedeur Sanders and the fact the Browns passed on the University of Colorado signal caller in the third round in favor of former Oregon Ducks standout Dillion Gabriel. However, Cleveland finally stopped Sanders' fall in the fifth.
After all of that drama, the Browns had more decisions to make regarding what the future of their quarterback room will look like and, unfortunately, it appears as though one of the new faces in Cleveland this season will only be making a short stay with the franchise.
The Browns are not picking up QB Kenny Pickett’s fifth-year option, source confirmed and as @MaryKayCabot first reported.
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) April 28, 2025
Pickett will be a free agent after the 2025 season. His $2.6 million base salary next season is fully guaranteed.
Former first-round pick Kenny Pickett will not have his fifth-year option picked up by the Browns, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. In addition to the aforementioned Gabriel and Sanders, Pickett will be joined in the quarterback room this season by Joe Flacco and Deshaun Watson -- although Watson is expected to miss a significant portion, if not all, of the 2025 campaign after re-injuring his right Achilles tendon.
With the 2026 NFL Draft expected to be filled with higher-level prospects at the quarterback position than the 2025 class, the fact that Pickett is likely to be nothing more than a stop-gap option in Cleveland is not completely surprising.
Had Cleveland picked up Pickett's option, he would have been on the books for just over $22 million for the 2026 season, adding to the overall cost of their roster. When you take into consideration that Watson is still owed over $116 million through the 2026 season, getting by at the quarterback position while spending as little as possible over that period is almost certainly the Browns' plan at this point in time.
It remains to be seen who takes the reins of Cleveland's offense once training camp ends and the 2025 regular season kicks off. Kevin Stefanski will have a multitude of options to evaluate until then, although some come to the table with much less experience than others.