Now, we know that the Cleveland Browns, after months of subjecting fans and observers to the uninspiring quarterback competition between battered veteran Deshaun Watson and flawed second-year man Shedeur Sanders, are not about to throw an entirely new body in the mix via trade or surprise signing. They’ve had opportunities both big (Malik Willis in free agency) and small (Anthony Richardson on the trade market) to do so, but haven’t. Still, when a quarterback talented enough to be picked in the Top 10 gets demoted from a starting job, as with JJ McCarthy in Minnesota, you just know the Browns are going to be one of the first teams that come up in trade speculation.
And, indeed, plenty of analysts are making the link. Heck, as far back as March, when there was obvious discomfort with McCarthy within the Vikings‘ building, the very reputable St. Paul Pioneer Press floated a potential McCarthy-to the Browns trade.
Now that the Vikings have officially made Kyler Murray their starter and McCarthy the QB2–and with neither Watson nor Sanders seizing the QB1 job in Berea this month–attention will again shift to the Browns.
Browns Speculation on JJ McCarthy Resurfaces
It is a longshot, at best, that the Browns would make a trade for McCarthy before Week 1 this season. But that does not stop the creative mock trade generators from having at it.
At FanSided, a reasonable trade was proposed, with the Jets and Panthers as potential JJ McCarthy suitors, too. In that proposal, the Vikings would get Dillon Gabriel and a fifth-round pick for McCarthy and a seventh-round pick. Basically, a backup swap with the Vikings getting a bump up in the 2027 draft.
At A to Z Sports, something a little more exotic: Shedeur Sanders straight up for McCarthy. The author there writes, “Swapping Sanders for McCarthy makes sense for the Browns if they believe there’s more to get out of the former first-round pick than there is with Sanders.” OK, but … why on earth would the Vikings do that?
Browns Sticking With QB Plan
Again, the Browns are eager to stick with their plan on Sanders and Watson, letting them battle for the top job and seeing where that goes. Dropping McCarthy into the mix, even after the season starts (barring injury), would go against everything that GM Andrew Berry and coach Todd Monken have laid out to date.
As things stand, Watson is going to start this Saturday’s game against the Bears, and Sanders will follow on August 22 against the Bills. There not likely to be anything that changes that approach.
JJ McCarthy Will Be a ‘Topic Again in the Offseason’
The Vikings are also not pushing to trade McCarthy, to the Browns or anyone. And it seems that McCarty, who went from 2024 national champ with Michigan to the No. 10 pick in a stacked draft, to a knee injury sinking his rookie season to 10 uninspiring starts in 2025, understands is not in position to demand a trade.
But that does not mean Berry and Monken can’t revisit all this next winter.
From ESPN insider Adam Schefter: “JJ McCarthy is not going to be looking for a trade. He is content to play out this season in Minnesota. It does not preclude Minnesota from making a move, although Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings head coach, said they absolutely plan on and want to keep JJ McCarthy.
“So it stands to reason that JJ McCarthy will finish this season in Minnesota, and then we would revisit this topic again in the offseason, presumably with , at that point in time, the Vikings and JJ McCarthy figuring out a way to go their own separate ways after the season.”
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