Who Should I Start? Trey Lance or Kenny Pickett

Sunday, August 10, 9:00 PM

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Trey Lance started the second quarter of the team's 27-13 preseason win against the New Orleans Saints and eventually led a 14-play, 85-yard scoring drive towards the end of the half. The 25-year-old, a former first-round pick, got it done more with his legs than his arm, completing seven of 14 passes for 55 yards through the air while rushing for 48 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Although he was up and down with his accuracy and had a fumbled snap, Lance looked confident and poised, building off the momentum he gained in the Hall of Fame Game last week. Overall, Lance easily outplayed backup Taylor Heinicke and made a strong case to be Justin Herbert's primary backup this season.

Monday, August 25, 8:18 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders are acquiring quarterback Kenny Pickett (hamstring) from the Cleveland Browns on Monday in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Geno Smith is the Raiders' unquestioned starter heading into the 2025 regular season in two weeks, but Pickett will now give the team plenty of backup experience after Aidan O'Connell (wrist) went down with a fractured right wrist that is expected to sideline him for six to eight weeks. Pickett himself has dealt with a hamstring injury that he suffered late in July that kept him out of all three of the Browns' preseason games, but he has a chance to be available for Week 1 for the Raiders against the New England Patriots. Back in Cleveland, this trade means that one of rookie signal-callers Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders will be the QB2 behind Joe Flacco to begin the year.