Kenny Pickett is on the move again.
The Browns traded Pickett to Las Vegas on Monday night for a fifth-round draft pick in 2026, giving the Raiders a proven backup quarterback and clearing the way for two rookies to back up Joe Flacco in Cleveland.
It's the third time in less than 18 months that Pickett has been traded. He was the 20th overall pick by Pittsburgh in the 2022 draft and started 24 games in two seasons for the Steelers before being dealt to Philadelphia in 2024.
Pickett will back up Geno Smith in Las Vegas after Aidan O’Connell broke his right wrist in Saturday’s preseason game at Arizona.
The Eagles won the Super Bowl last season, when Pickett was the backup to Jalen Hurts. He was traded to Cleveland in March for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick.
Cleveland signed Flacco one month later and drafted Dillon Gabriel in the third round and Shedeur Sanders in the fifth.
Pickett suffered a hamstring injury on July 26 and didn't play in the preseason. Coach Kevin Stefanski had said he expected Pickett to be available for Cleveland’s Sept. 7 opener against Cincinnati.
Stefanski did not name a backup last week when Flacco was named the Week 1 starter, but Gabriel would likely fill that role if the Browns don't sign another QB. Cleveland released Tyler Huntley on Sunday, but he could be an option if the Browns want a veteran with starting experience.
O’Connell will miss six to eight weeks for Las Vegas, and coach Pete Carroll made it clear that the Raiders would pursue another quarterback because he said rookie Cam Miller wasn’t ready to be the No. 2.
“I want somebody who’s played,” Carroll said Sunday. “That’s what’s important, a guy that’s had game experience is really huge to me. We have Cam and Cam hasn’t played in the league much, so we’re looking for an experienced player that could help us.”
Pickett has started 25 games in three seasons and is 15-10. He has completed 62.6% of his passes for 4,765 yards with 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
O’Connell started 17 games over the past two seasons, including seven games in 2024. He threw for 1,612 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions last year.
The Raiders — who open at New England on Sept. 7 — signed Smith in the offseason, bumping O'Connell to the backup role.
AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson contributed to this report.
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FILE - Cleveland Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) runs with the ball during a practice at the team's NFL football training camp Friday, July 25, 2025, in Berea, Ohio. (AP Photo/David Richard,File)
FILE - Cleveland Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) looks on during a preseason NFL football game between the Carolina Panthers and the Cleveland Browns Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman,File)
BOSTON (AP) — When Zdeno Chara signed with the Boston Bruins in 2006, the No. 3 he wore early in his career had already been retired by the Original Six franchise.
So he picked No. 33 without giving it much thought.
“Little did I know how meaningful 33 was,” Chara said on Thursday night before his number was raised to the TD Garden rafters not far from where Larry Bird's No. 33 already hangs in Celtics green.
It is the 13th number retired by the Bruins, and the latest in a collection of Hall of Fame defenseman that runs from Eddie Shore to Bobby Orr to Raymond Bourque.
“It's a huge honor,” Chara told reporters. "I can’t explain to you how honored I feel. I’m humbled about being selected to be one of the numbers being retired. Being with that history, forever."
The 2009 Norris Trophy winner and a 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Chara spent 14 of his 24 NHL seasons in Boston, leading the Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup championship. His 1,680 games is the most of any NHL defenseman; at 6 feet, 9 inches (2.06m), he is the tallest player in league history, and his 108.8 mph (175.1 kmh) slap shot in the 2012 skills competition remains the NHL record.
But his teammates and other Bruins attending Thursday's ceremony said Chara's biggest contribution was signing with a team that hadn't won a playoff series in six years — “the best decision I ever made” — and turning them into champions.
“Things really changed when Zee came here as a free agent,” Bourque said. "From that point on, the culture and everything that comes with that, and the success and the run that they had, he was such a big part of that.
“He’s a legend,” Bourque said. “He really deserves to be up there.”
Bourque was among the former Bruins greats in attendance, along with Orr — both of them, like Chara, Boston defensemen who finished their careers elsewhere on their way to the Hall of Fame. They arrived via gold carpet that led them past adoring fans and the statue of Orr flying through the air following his Cup-winning goal in the 1970 finals.
Other fellow retired number honorees in attendance included Cam Neely, Willie O’Ree, Rick Middleton, Terry O'Reilly and John Bucyk. The current Bruins sat on the bench, all wearing Chara jerseys.
Five members of the 2011 roster — Patrice Bergeron, Mark Recchi, Dennis Seidenberg, David Krejci and Tuukka Rask — carried the retired number onto the ice, and teammate Andrew Ference served as emcee.
In his speech, Chara read the names of every player on the Bruins last Cup winners. Asked why, he said after: “Without championships, you are not going to be successful, you’re not going to be recognized.
"The championships, that’s what they do. They raise everyone, they extend careers for everyone,” he explained. "They create dynasties. They create stories. They create memories. They created what we’re experiencing tonight.
"It’s very simple: Once you win the championship, everything gets so much better for everyone. And the most beautiful thing about it: You create extended families with each other. It’s true. You have bonds, you have friendships that are now still forever. It’s amazing; it’s like you’re seeing your brother. You trust the person; you know everything about them. And anytime anybody needs something, you’re there for them.
“That’s what winning championships do,” he said. “Not just for a career, but for the rest of your lives, it means something very special.”
The ceremony at center ice featured a “Big Zee” ice sculpture flanking the podium and a large No. 33 behind it. Fans were asked to get in their seats two hours early, and the full TD Garden erupted in a giant shout of “Zee!” followed by an extended cheer of “Thank you, Chara!”
A highlight video featured former Bruins Brad Marchand and current coach Marco Sturm, Chara's teammate from 2006-10. Many of them spoke of the way Chara led by example.
“He wasn’t really a ‘Rah, rah!’ guy,” former Bruins forward and current team president Neely said, “but when he spoke, it was with a purpose.”
And so, when it was time to raise his No. 33 to the rafters, Chara stood by with his wife, Tatiana, while their children — Zack, Ben and Elliz — pulled the ropes.
“That’s the biggest reward for me: To see my children and my family doing it instead of me. I think I get better joy watching them doing it than the joy of me doing it because it's so much more meaningful,” he explained. "They deserve that more than me."
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Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara speaks during his number retirement ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara leads his family over to his number "33" to raise it to the rafters before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, center, waves to the crowd during his number retirement ceremony, as Bruins' players with their number already retired, from left, Willie O'Ree, Rick Middleton, Terrry O'Reilly, Cam Neely, emcee Andrew Ferrance and Bobby Orr look on before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara's number "33" is raised to the rafters at TD Garden before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Bobby Orr applauds, left bottom, as former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara waves to the crowd during his number retirement ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
