The front office of the Philadelphia Eagles has done an incredible job over the years of building a roster that not only competes for NFC East titles every year but, more recently, Super Bowl championships.
While this is exactly what Eagles fans were hoping for when Jalen Hurts was selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, it hasn't worked out as well for the quarterbacks behind him on the depth chart who are looking to secure their footing within the league.
Now, one of Hurts' recent backups is already feeling the pressure to perform long before he suits up for a game in the new city the former first-round pick calls home.
Former Eagles QB Kenny Pickett Already on the Hot Seat Ahead of Camp
The Eagles brought in Kenny Pickett to be their QB2 before the 2024 season, and the former Pittsburgh Panthers standout saw the field a bit. Pickett appeared in five games, including one start, throwing for 291 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception during his lone year in Philadelphia.
Now, Pickett finds himself on the Cleveland Browns roster, where he is competing for the opportunity to be the team's starter against another veteran, Joe Flacco, and a pair of rookie draft picks in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
That competition in and of itself is not the reason why Pickett's seat is hotter than most this time of year. Beyond the current competition on the roster, his contract is up following this season which means he will lose out on prime opportunities to show his worth to the rest of the league if he isn't the team's starter coming out of camp.
Add in the fact that Cleveland owns the Jacksonville Jaguars first round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which is expected to include a better crop of quarterbacks entering the league from the college ranks, and this truly is a put up or shut up year for the former Eagle.
One of the biggest reasons for Philadelphia's success has been the play of Hurts, as the former second-round pick has blossomed into one of the league's most consistent signal-callers during his time in Philadelphia. In the end, that is all that matters to Eagles fans.