Quarterback Kenny Pickett and wide receiver Amari Cooper are now members of the Las Vegas Raiders amid roster concerns approaching cutdown day.

With Aidan O’Connell sidelined by a fractured wrist suffered in the Raiders’ final preseason game, the franchise sought a backup to QB1 Geno Smith and plumped for Pickett, whose future in Cleveland appeared uncertain as the Browns juggled three options, including rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, behind confirmed starter Joe Flacco.

Pickett was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2022 selection process and spent three seasons in black-and-gold before being traded to Philadelphia when the Steelers chose to go with veteran Russell Wilson in 2024. Although he earned a Super Bowl ring as backup to Jalen Hurts at the Eagles last season, he again proved expendable and was sent to Cleveland in exchange for a fifth-round pick and unproven quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson — who, along with draft pick Kyle McCord, was amongst the Eagles players cut at the same time that Pickett was being send to Sin City.

While Pickett is expected to play second fiddle to Smith in silver-and-black, both players will have a new target in the receiving game as Cooper rejoins the team that drafted him back in 2015, when they were the Oakland Raiders. Since leaving California, Cooper has led something of a nomadic existence, with three years at the Dallas Cowboys before being moved on to Cleveland and, 18 months later, to Buffalo, where he saw out the second half of last season.

With 10,000 yards+ and 64 touchdowns to his name, Cooper will add veteran depth to a Raiders locker room that could yet see the exit of Jakobi Meyers amid a contract dispute. Meyers and Tre Tucker were the only receivers on the Raiders who clocked up a minimum of 500 yards last season — rookie TE Brock Bowers was the preferred option in the passing game — but it remains to be seen whether Cooper, who has not looked his explosive best for a number of years, is the answer.

Pickett, meanwhile, earned himself a dubious footnote in the annals of NFL history by becoming only the second player to have been traded three or more times in his first four seasons in the league. That clubhouse was empty just 48 hours earlier, prior to Sam Howell — drafted by the Washington Commanders before being shipped to Seattle in 2024 and Minnesota in 2025. Having hardly touched a ball for the Vikings, however, Howell was acquired by Philadelphia as the latest backup to Jalen Hurts, while Minnesota turned to former second-overall Eagles selection Carson Wentz — himself no stranger to being traded — to fill the void behind J.J. McCarthy.