National radio host proposes wild Vikings-Steelers trade involving J.J. McCarthy, T.J. Watt

It's a fun thought experiment, but the odds of something like that happening are ridiculously low.

Dec 25, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) reacts as he takes the field against the Kansas City Chiefs at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Never say never, but we're fairly confident the "this is never going to happen" mantra applies to the trade idea floated on ESPN Radio.

On Tuesday's episode of Unsportsmanlike, show host Evan Cohen floated a trade idea that would send Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy to the Pittsburgh Steelers for superstar edge rusher T.J. Watt.

"I could come up with some teams that we don't think are gonna be very good and maybe go all in for their quarterbacks, but then you're gonna be like, okay, why are they gonna give up that quarterback?" Cohen said. "Unless you're gonna trade T.J. Watt to the Vikings for J.J. McCarthy. That's actually an interesting trade now that I just think about that. Totally outta left field that I just made that up...I like that trade a lot now that I think about it."

It's a fun thought experiment, but the odds of something like that happening are ridiculously low.

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Watt is entering his age-31 season. He carries a $30.4 million cap hit in 2025 before becoming eligible for free agency. There's not a team on the planet that would consider trading the 22-year-old they drafted to be the franchise quarterback for an aging outside linebacker.

Watt is a monster. He's arguably the best defensive player in the NFL. He's been named All-Pro first or second team five of the past six seasons and has 108 sacks in 121 career regular-season games.

But there's also the fact that Minnesota has Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard — both made the Pro Bowl in 2024 — as starting edge rushers, and the Vikings invested heavy draft capital to move up and select outside linebacker Dallas Turner last year.

It'll never happen, but it is a fun debate topic.