We’re officially in offseason silly season. In the final few days of the league’s dormant period before free agency begins and questions finally get answered, even analysts are throwing every idea at the wall to try and solve the Pittsburgh Steelers’ long-standing quarterback void. Including the idea of a trade that would send future Hall of Fame EDGE T.J. Watt to the Minnesota Vikings for QB J.J. McCarthy.
Musing over the idea was ESPN’s Evan Cohen, who blurted out the thought on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike Tuesday.
“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 as he tried to game out the Steelers’ quarterback answer. “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.”
In fairness, Cohen admitted he loves coming up with crazy “hypothetical” trades. This one surely qualifies. It’s doubtful he’s suggesting a straight-up swap of Watt for McCarthy but making the point, like others before him, of Pittsburgh needing to make a big splash move. Short-term pain for the hopeful long-term gain of finding a franchise quarterback.
If Sam Darnold returns to Minnesota, McCarthy could become expendable. The Vikings would also be happy to have two talented quarterbacks on the roster in a world where some teams struggle to find one. A trade for Watt would give them a premier pass rusher to try and get over the hump and defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ aggressive defense would solve the issue of Watt being double-teamed and schemed out of games in Pittsburgh last season. His system could maximize one-on-one chances for a guy like Watt.
Coming back to Earth, Cohen understood Pittsburgh isn’t going to make bold moves like his suggestion.
“At this point it is fair for us to come to the conclusion we have to stop bringing up the Steelers as this could-they-go-get-that-guy kind of team,” he said. “That’s not who they are.”
A valid critique though we’ll see how the offseason unfolds. And in this case, it’s a good thing they’re not “that” kind of team, trading a player of Watt’s caliber for an unknown in McCarthy. A quarterback yet to throw an NFL pass after missing his entire rookie year due to injury. When it comes to the AFC North, the only high-end pass rusher who could be traded resides in Cleveland. Not Pittsburgh.
