A social media trade proposal has ignited the Cleveland Browns fanbase. The idea of trading for Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy was quickly rejected by fans. Their reaction sparked a debate about the team's future and loyalty to their current quarterbacks.

On Thursday, The Dawgs, a Cleveland Browns podcast, made an X post asking fans whether they would like to accept QB J.J. McCarthy and 7th round pick in the 2026 draft in exchange for the 5th round pick and 6th round pick. 

“Browns fans, would you make this trade? Browns: + QB J.J. McCarthy + 2026 7th round pick (234). Vikings: + 2026 5th round pick (145) + 2026 6th round pick (205). (Proposed by @BrandonLittleBL),” the X post suggested. 

At the start of the year, GM Andrew Berry did say that the team would be looking at bringing in another QB to the team. With inconsistency plaguing Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson, and Dillon Gabriel, some competition might be good.

However, if the team goes for McCarthy, they might just be adding on to the problem. Todd Monken clearly wants to have an open competition between the three quarterbacks, and adding a fourth one to the mix will just bring in instability.

And fans have a similar idea, with a particular affinity for Shedeur Sanders.

They Also Proved Their Loyalty to Shedeur Sanders

One frustrated fan called out the proposal and opined that the Vikings would not agree to the 5th and 6th draft picks, which occur on the final Saturday of the draft between rounds 4 and 7. 

“They are not trading him for a f****** day 3 pick swaps get a grip,” the comment argued. His 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for 1,632 yards upset many fans. Which is why one X user called him an “over drafted” player and turned down the proposal on behalf of the Dawg Pound.

“why would we do this trade? Makes ZERO SENSE to me and y’all wanna trade for a QB that was hella over drafted? Nah! Let the Vikings deal with that and leave us out of these crazy trades scenarios.”

The fan said this because McCarthy managed only 49 touchdowns and 6226 yards in his three years of playing at Michigan. On the other hand, Shedeur Sanders, who was a fifth-round pick, had much better numbers in a single season of play.

One fan commented on McCarthy’s incompetence despite having a solid franchise supporting him. Unlike the Browns, who lacked good linemen, wide receivers, and running backs. Moreover, the team’s circumstances put their rookie quarterbacks through a rough season, and fans want to give Sanders another chance.

“The Browns have 2 young QBs that didn't look good without an OLine or WRs. Why TF would they want a QB that s***** with a line and WRs? This season will be finding out if the QBs they have really s*** or not, not adding one who already s***,” the comment replied.

And another fan wrote, “Why would you want JJ McCarthy? He’s not as good as Shedeur. Just let Shedeur prove it.”

In his tumultuous first pro season, 24-year-old Sanders threw seven touchdowns for 1,400 yards. And while he was criticized for making hasty throws that turned into 10 interceptions, but he also threw three touchdowns in Week 14 and improved his completion rate from 25 percent to 73.9 percent. 

Moreover, Sanders is the reigning fan favorite. One Sanders’ fan posted an image which read, “If the Browns start any other quarterback other than shedeur sander we gone boo them off the field like we did Gabriel.” 

And captioned it “H*** no... STOP ASKING,” proving how sentimental they are about Sanders. Not only does love for Sanders run deep, but Browns fans are not willing to put the weak offense at risk. But what are your thoughts on this proposal? Share them in the comments.

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Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar