Familiar foe for Raiders QB
Kenny Pickett will be the starting quarterback for the Raiders this Sunday, as Geno Smith is sidelined due to shoulder and back injuries sustained against the Denver Broncos.
This will be Pickett’s first start since Week 17 last season, when he was playing for the team he’ll be facing this Sunday.
The 2022 first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers was traded to the Eagles in 2024 and won a Super Bowl championship with the team. In that Week 17 start, the Eagles throttled the Dallas Cowboys, 41-17, with Pickett going 10-of-15 for 143 passing yards and two total touchdowns.
“Just grateful to play this game where you get to meet people and build lifelong relationships,” Pickett said of his former teammates. “I’ll be friends with a lot of those guys for the rest of my life. It will be pretty cool going up against them on Sunday and I’m excited for it.”
In relief of Smith last week, Pickett had a great showing, completing nearly 73 percent of his throws for 97 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s been very open,” quarterbacks coach Greg Olson said of Pickett, “and even just playing there, in talking with the other offensive players, really about what it’s going to be like to play there in terms of noise and crowd factor. But yeah, he’s very aware of kind of their personnel and has given some good insight.”