J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings may be a trade option for the Browns.
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J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings may be a trade option for the Browns.
One potential quarterback option is now off the board for the Cleveland Browns after veteran Kyler Murray signed with the Minnesota Vikings. But the move could also open the door to another intriguing possibility.
Murray agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.3 million and will compete with J.J. McCarthy for the starting job in Minnesota. The move creates an intriguing situation around McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 draft, who has seen limited action early in his career.
Aaron Goldhammer of ESPN Cleveland believes the Browns should at least check on McCarthy’s availability.
“Any interest in J.J. McCarthy? What’s going on there? He hasn’t played very much. To just totally write a guy off, they took him in the top-10 after like seven starts. Whose future do you feel better about? Him or Shedeur’s?” Goldhammer said.
The argument for McCarthy may be more compelling than it might appear on the surface. At 23, he’s the same age as Shedeur Sanders and actually has more NFL game experience — 10 starts to Sanders’ seven.
However, McCarthy missed his rookie season with a torn meniscus. Last season, McCarthy was underwhelming, passing for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 10 starts.
Browns’ QB Room Remains an Open Question
The Browns enter the offseason with three quarterbacks under contract — Sanders, Deshaun Watson and Dillion Gabriel. None of those options provides a clear answer at the position heading into next season. New Browns head coach Todd Monken addressed the situation head-on at the combine in late February, making clear that nothing is decided.
“I don’t know why it wouldn’t be an open competition, and I don’t mean that harshly, but I don’t think there’s enough on film over the last couple years, one way or the other, to say, ‘Boy, we have a starter at quarterback’ yet, whether internally or externally,” Monken said.
That said, Monken was careful not to write off Sanders, who showed flashes as a rookie despite finishing with a 3-4 record.
“I think what you see is elite playmaking ability. That’s in him. You’ve seen it. We’ve seen it. You saw it in college. You saw it on tape last year. Sure, there’s a ways to go,” Monken said. “But what rookie isn’t? I mean, what first-year player doesn’t have a long way to go? So I’m excited to get started with him and all of our quarterbacks and all of our players.”
Browns general manager Andrew Berry echoed the cautious optimism on Sanders while also leaving the door wide open for outside additions.
“I think the biggest thing that we want to see from Shedeur is just continued growth. He grew a lot from start one to start seven,” Berry said. “I think certainly playing more efficiently, not putting the ball in harm’s way as much would be important while maintaining the ability to produce out of structure and generate explosive plays.”
Monken also noted that Watson — returning from a twice-torn Achilles that wiped out his entire 2025 season — remains in the conversation, as does Gabriel. Monken said he hopes to identify a starter before training camp.
Browns Still Searching for Answers at QB
With the veteran quarterback market moving quickly in the early days of free agency, Cleveland’s options have begun to narrow. Malik Willis, who had been frequently linked to the Browns, agreed to a three-year, $67.5 million deal with the Miami Dolphins.
Geno Smith was traded from the Raiders to the Jets, and the 49ers’ asking price for Mac Jones has found no takers so far. Murray, now committed to Minnesota, is off the board.
Names like Russell Wilson, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Carson Wentz remain available, though none represent a meaningful upgrade over what Cleveland already has in-house.
The draft is Cleveland’s most viable avenue for adding to the quarterback room. Cleveland holds the No. 6 and No. 24 picks in the first round. Taking a quarterback at No. 6 is not expected but the Browns could add a developmental prospect in the later rounds.