The Las Vegas Raiders were in dire straits when it came to the depth behind Geno Smith. Backup quarterback Aidan O'Connell broke his throwing wrist and will be out for the first month or more of the season, and sixth-round rookie Cam Miller did not look NFL-ready during the preseason.
This spurred a trade for Cleveland Browns backup Kenny Pickett. While once a first-rounder and a starting-level quarterback in the league, at least a portion of Raider Nation was upset that the team gave up a fifth-round pick for what they felt was an average backup.
However, as John Spytek and Pete Carroll have proven this offseason, there is always a method to the madness. And, as is typical in this business, many of the decisions are made based on prior relationships or connections.
Kenny Pickett already has ties to Raiders' Geno Smith, Chip Kelly
When addressing the local media on Thursday, Pickett was asked about his early impressions of working with Geno Smith thus far. Unexpectedly, Pickett responded that the two already had a solid relationship from working together this offseason.
"Yeah, Geno's awesome. We got to work together every day in the offseason. So, it's actually crazy how this game works. He was, like, kind of my training partner. We were pushing each other every day in the weight room, on the field. We were throwing like three times a week," Pickett said. "So, it's really funny now that we're teammates and we're kind of picking up right where we left off. So, he's an awesome guy to learn from. [I'm] here for him, whatever he needs. He's answering my questions. Obviously, I have a lot of them. I'm trying not to bother him too much, but it's a great relationship for sure."
Given the rapport that the two already had, one would think that Smith effectively signed off on the team acquiring Pickett. That should give Raider Nation a bit more faith in their backup quarterback.
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In the same media availability, Pickett was also asked about his early impressions of working with new Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Of course, Pickett already had somewhat of a connection to Kelly as well.
"I think just looking at it early, he's good friends with Mark Whipple, who was my [offensive coordinator] at the University of Pittsburgh. So, there's a lot of similarities there," Pickett said of Kelly. "I'm going to call Coach Whip this weekend and talk to him some more about it, but a lot of the things I did in college is similar to what [Kelly is] doing."
Pickett's play in college made him a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, so perhaps his getting back into a similar system could be the best thing for his career. Obviously, the hope is that Raider Nation never has to see Pickett on the field, but they are clearly far from doomed if they do.