Eagles May Face Firmer Backup Kenny Pickett This Weekend

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles may be facing their former backup quarterback, Kenny Pickett, this weekend when they try to halt a rare three-game skid against the 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

Veteran Raiders starter Geno Smith is dealing with a shoulder injury suffered in Sunday's loss to Denver and was unable to practice on Wednesday.

"He's not practicing today," Las Vegas head coach Peter Carroll said. "We're going go day-to-day like always and see how it turns out at the end of the week."

Pickett, who was Jalen Hurts' backup in the Eagles' run to a Super Bowl LIX championship last season, took all the Raiders' first-team reps at practice on Wednesday.

"Kenny will take all the reps to get ready and get prepared in the event that he gets a chance to play," said Carroll.

Pickett started one game for the Eagles last season and played in five, completing 25 of 42 passes for 291 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He's played minimally as Smith's backup this season, completing 10 of 14 passes, most of that in Sunday's 24-17 loss to Denver when he tagged in for the injured Smith and connected on 8 of 11 passes for 97 yards and a 25-yard touchdown to Shedrick Jackson.

"I love the way he prepares and practices," Carroll said of Pickett. "He looked very good in the game the other night. We saw he did some really nice things, big plays, and escaped a little bit, got a little bit of running in. All of that looked really good. So, if he gets the chance to go, that was a good lead in for it."

Pickett's hookup with Jackson was called "exquisite" by Carroll.

"Yeah, it was perfect. The play was a perfect play, and the ball was ripped, split the safety, and the ball was right on the money, and Shedrick looked like he'd been there his whole life," said the coach. "It was a really great play."

Open-Ended

Dec 7, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) stands in the pocket against the Denver Broncos during the second half at Allegiant Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Carroll is still leaving the door open for Smith to potentially play but the tea leaves are reading Pickett returning to the Delaware Valley to try to play spoiler against a sliding Eagles team.

"It's going to all depend on how [Smith] responds to the treatment, and they're doing an elaborate process here to get him right and make sure that he's okay," Carroll explained. "And we won't know until we get through that. We don't have any indicators yet, so I can't tell you. Am I concerned about him? I always want our guys to get back as soon as possible, and I know, as a competitor, he wants to get back out there as soon as he can possibly get there. And he will.

"He'll do that."

The Eagles traded Pickett to the Cleveland Browns back in March in exchange for QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft. He entered Browns training camp in a four-way competition with Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders for Cleveland's starting quarterback role before a hamstring injury derailed his chances. The Browns then dealt Pickett to the Raiders in late August for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

Former Eagles' personnel staffers Brandon Hunt and Anthony Patch joined the Raiders this year and have familiarity with Pickett.

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