A Vikings-Steelers trade to replace J.J. McCarthy with controversial Super Bowl champ

Not all gambles pay off. The Minnesota Vikings' rolled the dice to trade up ever so slightly to draft J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan with their first-round pick. One preseason game into his NFL career, and he is done for the season with a knee injury. This absolutely stinks for the Vikings, but it wasn't like McCarthy was expected to start this fall for Minnesota. It will be the Sam Darnold show for them now.

As for the Pittsburgh Steelers, we talked all offseason about them acquiring Russell Wilson after he was cut by the Denver Broncos, as well as dealing for Justin Fields in a deal with the Chicago Bears. Fate would have it, neither of them have looked particularly great in Arthur Smith's offense. With Wilson potentially not making this team, maybe there is a trade that can happen to help both teams?

ESPN's Mike Tannenbaum floated out the idea of getting Wilson to Minnesota to beat out Darnold.

"Unfortunately for Minnesota, history is repeating itself," said Tannenbaum. "We go back to 2016, very unfortunate injury. Teddy Bridgewater had a catastrophic injury at practice. Sam Bradford gets traded from the Eagles to the Vikings. So to me, I think a win-win here is to trade Russell Wilson to Minnesota. I think he's a better quarterback than Sam Darnold."

I think they both kind of stink, but I trust Wilson to run Kevin O'Connell's offense better than Darnold.

Since we all love a good trade proposal, here is how I was able to get Wilson onto the Vikings.

In this proposed deal, the Vikings and the Steelers would be swapping backup quarterbacks and a pair of day-three picks. To Pittsburgh goes Nick Mullens and a 2025 fifth-round pick. Coming over to Minnesota would be Wilson and a 2025 fourth-round pick. In terms of AAV, we are within $30,000 of the deal being essentially even. It sounds crazy, but I think there could be some upside to the deal.

Let's unpack this potential trade a bit more, as well as the two quarterbacks going to new teams.

How Minnesota Vikings trade for Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson

This trade may not seem like a huge deal for either team, but I think it could be more in line for what both franchises are actually looking for this season. Again, this has all changed with McCarthy going down for the year with an injury. If he was healthy, we would not be talking about this. To me, this deal is all about making the Vikings more competitive. For Pittsburgh, it is about eliminating a distraction.

Even though I am not high on Wilson's game anymore, he has been a far better player in the NFL over Darnold, a guy who is firmly a backup in my mind. With the Vikings slated to finish in last place, something I was adamant about while appearing on The Simon & Friends Podcast late into the night on Wednesday, they will need to do something to ensure their quarterback room of a few more wins.

Darnold may win games in this offense, but I am not counting on it. I like all three of the Vikings' rivals more in the division this year. Not to say that Wilson is going to make them a much better team this year, probably because he is totally washed, the Vikings have a better chance of pushing toward .500 with him starting games over Darnold. Again, this is not going to be a great season up in Minneapolis.

As for the Steelers, they are removing a high-profile backup from the equation. If I had to pick between Wilson and Fields, I am going with the later because he still could might maybe be an ascending player. Although the idea of Fields is better than the real thing, this is only his fourth season out of Ohio State. I think more first-team reps will allow him to grow in Arthur Smith's offense.

With Mullens going to the Steelers, Pittsburgh would have a clear succession order under center. It will be Fields to start the season with Mullens as the more than capable backup. We have seen the Steelers win multiple games with many different quarterbacks over the last several years. If Mullens had to start three games this year for the Steelers, I would be that he could win at least one of them.

This move may not happen, but it is certainly worth considering because it makes both teams better.