J.J. McCarthy Comes Up in Trade Prediction with Shedeur Sanders
The depths of the offseason brings us wild trade speculation. We’ve already seen it countless times surrounding Justin Jefferson, but that seems to be every offseason now. The trade speculation surrounding Justin Jefferson is a bit reckless, but the speculation surrounding J.J. McCarthy is not.
Kyler Murray is being widely assumed to be named the Vikings’ starting QB after he signed a deal for the veteran-minimum by Minnesota earlier this offseason. Even though Murray comes with some injury risks himself, if he does get named starter, then the possibility of a J.J. McCarthy trade technically increases.
Amid the conversations regarding a potential trade of McCarthy, there’s been further speculation about what the deal would theoretically fetch the Vikings. It’s hard to imagine that Minnesota would fetch much better than an early Day 3 selection, but crazier things have happened.
My good buddy Tyler Forness presented a trade idea that doesn’t follow the beaten path of getting trade capital. Instead, he proposed a swap of young QBs that may be buried down their respective depth charts.
J.J. McCarthy – Shedeur Sanders Trade Hypothetical
Tyler Forness of AtoZ Sports laid it all out regarding the circumstances of a McCarthy-Sanders flip.
“If Sanders is not the starter and the Browns don’t believe he has the potential to be a franchise quarterback, trading him elsewhere should be on the table. Sanders is a heavily popular player no matter what he’s done on the field to this point in his NFL career. There’s always going to be noise for him to be the starter in Cleveland until he flat-out proves he can’t be the guy.
The Browns’ potential flipping of Sanders for McCarthy would be a move they make if they believe there’s a better chance the former national champion can be a starter in the NFL. One is a former first-round pick and one is a former fifth-round pick. Another reason the Browns potentially move Sanders in the end would depend on getting a plus return on what was a fifth-round pick.”
Sanders may also be a better fit for Kevin O’Connell’s offense than J.J. McCarthy is. Sanders passed the ball a lot in college, and would be more of a fit for a more pass-heavy offense like the Vikings run. McCarthy wasn’t called upon to throw the ball a ton, as Michigan relied very heavily on the run to get them down the field.
The Vikings’ Benefit of a J.J. McCarthy-Sheduer Sanders Flip
Forness points out a benefit from the Vikings’ point-of-view if they were to acquire Sanders from Cleveland.
“It would make sense for the Vikings as well, giving Kyler Murray the runway to be the unquestioned starter without having to look over his shoulder. It also gives Sanders the ability to truly sit back and develop, something that McCarthy didn’t get enough of due to his torn meniscus during his rookie year.”
Sanders would have to learn an entirely new system, and given his youth, that could take some time. Forness is correct in saying that this could benefit Minnesota. Assuming Murray wins the competition, he always has to look over his shoulder for J.J. McCarthy waiting on one misstep.
Forness concludes with the obvious: this trade isn’t likely, but it is worth considering this time of year.
