By now, everyone should know that the Cleveland Browns do not have a long-term solution to the quarterback position on their roster. Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson have all shown why they are not NFL-caliber starters. The Browns must find a solution for the future and luckily for them, one may have just fallen into their laps.
There is an expectation that the Minnesota Vikings want to keep Sam Darnold following his comeback/breakout season. Darnold has been able to lead the Vikings to the postseason and could very well go on a deep playoff run. While Minnesota may have found their successor to Kirk Cousins in Darnold, this does present a problem.
What do the Vikings do with 2024 10th overall pick J.J. McCarthy?
Would the Browns kick the tires on acquiring J.J. McCarthy?
McCarthy tore his meniscus in the preseason and underwent season-ending surgery to repair the injury. This provided the opening for Darnold to be something more than the bridge quarterback he was originally intended to be and has put McCarthy's future in Minnesota in doubt.
Should the Vikings be able to lock up Darnold with a new contract following the season, Cleveland would be wise to reach out to Minnesota to see what the asking price would be for McCarthy.
Acquiring McCarthy would allow the Browns to reset their quarterback timeline and, perhaps more importantly, the financial commitment allocated to the position.
Read more: How the Browns can ensure they're done with Dorian Thompson-Robinson after 2024
Having some flexibility in this area would certainly help out Cleveland's Michael Scott-esque salary cap maneuvers, and being able to get a quarterback on a low-cost rookie contract should allow them to avoid a complete and total teardown of their roster.
Of course, there will be some obstacles to this deal, and those cannot go unmentioned. What if this season is an outlier for Darnold, and he reverts to what he has been before this season? Maybe the Vikings want to keep McCarthy for that reason and have him be an inexpensive backup ready to take over if Darnold stumbles.
These are both very possible and maybe even likely, but perhaps the relationship between Browns general manager Andrew Berry and Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah might be enough to work past those, resulting in McCarthy coming to Cleveland (Adofo-Mensah was the Browns' vice president of football operations from 2020-2021).
If the Browns were to acquire McCarthy, it would be a sign that the offense is returning to what Kevin Stefanski initially brought to Cleveland and leaving behind their failed adjustments to cater to Watson's "strengths". Stefanski has shown he is not a coach who can adjust to players who do not fit his system, and his attempts to do so have been catastrophic failures.
McCarthy would fit his system perfectly and help them get back on track to having a consistent offense. Getting back to the play-action-based passing attack with a complementary running game is an absolute must for the Browns this offseason and their best path to escape the basement of the AFC North.