Raiders Fans Should be Okay With Adding Kenny Pickett

The Las Vegas Raiders stay in the headlines. First it was Jakobi Meyers requesting a trade and the team signing Amari Cooper. Now, they’ve acquired a back up quarterback. The Raiders have acquired Kenny Pickett from the Cleveland Browns for a fifth round draft pick. Is it the sexiest thing in the world? No. But fans should accept it and be truly okay with it.

Fans Should Be Okay with Raiders Adding Pickett

The Raiders desperately need a back up quarterback for Geno Smith. As great as it could be for Cam Miller to take the reins, he is not ready to lead an NFL offense. This Raiders team does have potential and if Smith did go down, they are in deep trouble. Adding Pickett makes things easier and more digestible.

Pickett does come with experience, which is good. Also, he is a crystal clear upgrade of Aidan O’Connell. Godspeed Officer Farva. Pickett was part of the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback carousel and did manage to secure starts for the team. He did throw for over 2,000 yards in two seasons with them. Although, not a-lot of touchdowns and he did have more interceptions than touchdowns his first season under center. Ball security was an issue and he just never could pan out as the true starter. Then he moved to the Eagles.

He was not the starter, but instead was the backup to Jalen Hurts. Not a bad place to be or a bad person to learn from. Hurts is one of the top quarterbacks in the game and it helps to have the plethora of weapons at his disposal. Pickett only threw for 291 yards and saw little action. But he was a back up and could be relied on when called upon.

The Raiders front office is banking on that and it’s a reliable option. An option the fans should get comfortable with.

This Was a Calculated Move

John Spytek wouldn’t just part with trade capital for no reason. Sure, it’s a fifth round pick, but the idea is to likely have Pickett for more than just this season. Also, he took advantage of a Browns situation, given they had four quarterbacks in their room and two whom they drafted this past draft. The Browns took what they could get.

Given that the options were thin, the Raiders made this move. Pickett has experience and has started games before. Also, he is coming from a winning environment and that type of intangible helps when it comes to this Raiders team trying to get on track. Also, this may have been what is and was available at this time when the team desperately needs a back up quarterback.

Sure, they could’ve added a veteran. But why do that when you can add a younger player. Jameis Winston was likely not available right now, but that could be loads of fun. Nobody should have the expectation that Pickett will be the franchise guy. But an upgrade over O’Connell and providing reliability.