National radio guys drum up Garrett and Watson for McCarthy trade idea

Who says no? Everyone in Minnesota....

Dec 8, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) takes the field to play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

A trio of ESPN Radio personalities think the easy solution for the Cleveland Browns in their sticking point with Myles Garrett is trading him to the Minnesota Vikings for J.J. McCarthy.

"Myles Garrett for J.J. McCarthy. Who says no?" Hembekides said Monday on ESPN Radio.

Uh, Paul. The Vikings would say no to that because they invested the No. 10 overall pick in last year's draft on McCarthy, who would probably be the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, and he's on a rookie contract while trading for Garrett and losing McCarthy would mean Minnesota probably has to pay Sam Darnold $40 million in 2025 and beyond while also taking on Garrett's contract.

The idea would take Minnesota from salary cap paradise to salary cap hell.

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Alas, the guys filling in for Mike Greenberg on ESPN Radio weren't done talking up some madness after learning that Garrett has requested a trade.

"I don't think anybody says no," co-host Q Myers said of the Garrett-for-McCarthy trade idea, "because J.J. McCarthy is so unknown. Nobody knows what he's going to be as a quarterback but the Browns need one."

Myers then referred to McCarthy as a steak and indicated Minnesota would need to throw in some potatoes to get the Browns to agree to the hypothetical trade.

After wondering about the quality of microwaved steaks, Hembekides asked fellow on-air talent/producer Cam Pratt about the idea and Pratt said it would take "way beyond just J.J. McCarthy" to strike a deal for Garrett.

"Are you saying J.J. plus a 1?" Hembekides said. "If not a 1 and a 2," Pratt replied.

Hembekides then conjured up the bright idea of Minnesota taking Garrett and Deshaun Watson's horrible contract for McCarthy.

"What if the Minnesota Vikings are able or willing to take on the Deshaun Watson contract as well?" he said. "You get out from under Deshaun, you trade away a franchise quarterback and you make it a two for one instead. How badly do you want to get rid of the Deshaun Watson anchor?"

Um, Paul, that's not happening. Watson still has two years of $72.9 million cap hits left on his contract and he's surrounded by sexual misconduct allegations and his Achilles snapped just over three months ago.

"You don't think the Vikings then do that?" Hembekides said.

"You best believe we'll talk about this a lot more in the future," Hembekides concluded.

Please don't. We beg you, Paul, please talk about something else.

“Myles Garrett for JJ McCarthy. Who says no?”

—@PaulHembo https://t.co/jyKjntMFGv pic.twitter.com/ijIOiMdsNI

— ESPN Radio (@ESPNRadio) February 3, 2025