New Browns QB Kenny Pickett said he was told he will compete for the starting job. (Cleveland Browns)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Takeaways from Day 4 of free agency …
If you think the Browns’ quarterback search is getting weird, how do you think Kenny Pickett feels?
The newest Browns QB arrived at team headquarters the same day free agent Russell Wilson visited for a job interview. “Him again?” Pickett must have thought.
Exactly one year ago, Pickett tossed a hissy-fit and demanded a trade from the Steelers when they hosted Wilson on a similar free agent visit.
The Steelers complied and shipped their 2022 first-round pick to Philadelphia while signing Wilson and trading for Justin Fields.
After a season as Jalen Hurts’ backup, during which Pickett shared in an Eagles Super Bowl title, the Browns shockingly traded for Pickett and promised him a shot at competing for the Browns’ starting quarterback job.
And now Wilson appears, just as shockingly, on the Browns’ radar?
“It’s fine with me as long as I have a chance to compete, that’s all you can ask for,” Pickett said on a very brief Zoom interview. “So having that opportunity is awesome as a player. So I’m looking forward to working with whoever comes in the building.”
Exactly why did Pickett demand a trade from the Steelers? I asked.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m not going to go too much into that,” he answered. “I feel like that’s in the past now. I’m excited to be here. Had a chance to play in Philly after leaving Pittsburgh, but I’m excited to be a Brown now.”
Pickett, 26, said a possible trade from Philadelphia was discussed in exit meetings after the Super Bowl. But he was as surprised as Browns fans that he ended up in Cleveland.
“I knew that there was a possibility that I was going to get traded,” Pickett said. “We felt like the two games that I got in there, I had some pretty good tape through those two games. You know, I did not know that it could have been Cleveland. That was a little bit of a surprise based on the teams that they were telling me early on in the process.
“But, I’m extremely happy to be here. I know how much talent is on this team. Having a chance to talk with the entire coaching staff. I’m very excited to get to work here.”
Pickett said the Browns told him he’d have a chance “to compete to be the starter.”
“I do view myself as a starter,” Pickett said. “I’m sure they’re going to bring in another veteran and who knows what else, but I’m just excited to be here and compete with whoever. All the quarterback rooms I’ve been in, each room has been really tight. We all pull for each other and, that’s really what it’s all about, getting better together and making the team better. [I’m] definitely prepared for whatever situation that may present itself.”
Letting Russ cook
Wilson departed Browns headquarters at about 2:30 in the afternoon and headed to New York for a visit with the Giants.
The Giants hosted a visit by Joe Flacco on Thursday.
The quarterback carousel is being stalled by Aaron Rodgers’ annoying non-chalance.
The Steelers want Rodgers, Wilson wants the Steelers, and there is a growing feeling that Rodgers wants the Vikings, who are indifferent because they are ready to turn things over to 2024 No. 1 pick J.J. McCarthy.
The Browns want Cousins, but are unwilling to part with a draft pick to pry him from Atlanta.
Would the Browns turn to Wilson? Possibly. Would the Browns turn to Flacco, the undeniable favorite of the locker room and fan base?
Apparently not.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, “Joe Flacco is not on the Browns’ radar.”
Conklin, the lion king
Right tackle Jack Conklin helped the Browns create some big-time cap room when he agreed to a revised contract.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Conklin agreed to what amounts to a $5 million pay cut in exchange for guaranteed money and the opportunity to enter free agency in 2026.
Conklin was scheduled to have a $14 million salary in 2025 with a cap number of $17.7 million. But nothing was guaranteed. So he agreed to the Browns’ offer of $9 million guaranteed and eliminated the 2026 year on his contract. The maneuver could create up to $8.7 million in cap room for the Browns.
It also increases the likelihood of the Browns using a high draft pick on an offensive tackle.
If all goes well for the Browns, Dawand Jones will recover from offseason knee ‘scope surgery and start at left tackle and Conklin will be at right tackle. The drafted rookie would then take over for Conklin in 2026, or be forced in immediately if Jones has trouble coming back.
The new pass rusher
When the Browns signed pass rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, I struggled to think of another player directly from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to join the Browns.
Then I thought of receiver Mark Carrier, whom the Browns signed in free agency in 1992, and then quarterback Vinny Testaverde in 1993.
So that’s more than 30 years, unless I missed somebody.
Tryon-Shoyinka was the Buccaneers’ first-round pick (No. 32 overall, after their Tom Brady Super Bowl title team) in 2021. The Bucs declined to pick up his fifth-year option in 2023 and Tryon played out his fourth year and signed with the Browns for a reported $4.75 million for one year.
Tryon, 6-5 and 259 pounds, played outside linebacker for the Bucs, but he said he is looking forward to putting his hand in the dirt as a 4-3 end in Jim Schwartz’s defense.
“Great opportunity to come out and hunt,” he said on a Zoom call. “Just pin my ears back. Play with some amazing players alongside the D-line and just pin my ears back and hunt. Just go be a crazy dog on the field.”
Tryon was a college teammate with former Browns center Nick Harris at Washington. Otherwise, he has no past associations with coaches or players on the Browns.
He was attracted by the reputation of Schwartz’s attack-minded defensive system.
“There’s so much more and this is just the beginning for me,” he said. “I feel like I’m not even in the peak of my career. This is where things can get going in the right direction, where I’m allowed to just be free and just be the player where I’m going 100 miles an hour every play and Schwartz’s defense is perfect for that.”