After a contentious spring full of drama, investigations, and multiple lawsuits, Brendan Sorsby has officially left Texas Tech and applied for the supplemental draft. While the NCAA and Big 12 will finally be able to put the gambling scandal behind them, the chaos is only beginning for the NFL. The league office now has to decide if Sorsby will be allowed to play in 2026, and teams have to decide whether his talent is worth the off-field circus he comes with.
How Does The Supplemental Draft Work?
The NFL supplemental draft offers an alternative pathway into the league for college athletes who missed the spring deadline or whose eligibility changed after the entry draft.
During the supplemental draft, any team can place a blind, silent draft pick bid on the eligible player(s). Whichever team bids the highest pick receives the player and forfeits that pick in the next year’s entry draft. For example, if the Cardinals wagered a fourth-round pick and the Colts offered a sixth, the Cardinals would get the player and lose a fourth-rounder in 2027. (The Colts would keep their pick.)
The winning team can then sign the player to a four-year contract that matches the rookie wage scale for the round of the pick they bid.
How Highly Will NFL Teams Value Brendan Sorsby?
Despite his impressive physical traits, Sorsby isn’t a talented enough prospect to make up for all of the baggage he’s bringing into the league. It’s extremely unlikely that any NFL team would view him as anything more than a high-maintenance lottery ticket.
Shedeur Sanders dropped to the fifth round of the 2025 draft because of attitude concerns. Meanwhile, Sorsby is tied to a federal lawsuit. It’s hard to imagine a team bidding higher than a late-round pick in the supplemental draft for the 22-year-old.
Expect only a handful of teams (if any) to bid on Sorsby—and for him to go for a fifth- or sixth-round pick at the most.
3 Quarterback-Needy Teams That Should Avoid Brendan Sorsby In The Supplemental Draft
These teams are all commonly listed as possible landing spots for Sorsby. Even though they each lack a long-term solution at the position, all three of them should steer clear of the embattled quarterback in the supplemental draft.
#1 – New York Jets
Quarterback Room: Geno Smith, Cade Klubnik, Brady Cook, Bailey Zappe
The Jets were one of the big winners of the 2026 draft. Their class featured three first-round picks, and they’re slated to have another three picks in the first round of next year’s draft. Despite their lack of star power, New York is well-positioned for a bright future, and they appear to have a perfect setup for developing a young quarterback. While this makes the Jets a good fit for Sorsby, it doesn’t necessarily make him a good fit for them.
New York has been patient throughout their rebuild, and the 2027 quarterback class looks to be one of the best in recent memory. They have no incentive to take a swing on Sorsby when they’re already in a great position to draft a player who is more talented a few months from now.
#2 – Cleveland Browns
Quarterback Room: Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, Taylen Green
As entertaining as it would be to have Sorsby, Sanders, and Deshaun Watson on the same team, it would be an unnecessary PR nightmare for the Browns. There’s simply no reason for Cleveland to add another problematic figure to what is already both the worst and most controversial QB room in the league.
In their first year under head coach Todd Monken, the Browns should focus on building a new culture in Cleveland—not adding more instability. Like the Jets, the Browns should look to the 2027 NFL Draft for their next franchise quarterback.
#3 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Quarterback Room: Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Drew Allar, Will Howard
On paper, Sorsby to the Steelers makes sense for a few reasons. First, they need to find their quarterback of the future after Aaron Rodgers announced that the 2026 season will be his last. Second, Sorsby may face a significant suspension upon entering the league, so it makes sense for him to go to a team that doesn’t need him to play much (or at all) in year one. Third, Pittsburgh has shown a high tolerance for quarterbacks with unsavory off-the-field issues in the past (namely, Ben Roethlisberger).
The Steelers quarterback room has been a revolving door since the beginning of the decade—from Rodgers to Russell Wilson to the carousel of mediocrity that followed the Roethlisberger era. Pittsburgh is overdue for some stability, and they should be taking Rodgers’ impending retirement as an opportunity to reset their aging roster and build for the future. Sorsby would just be another name in a long line of high-risk, low-reward gambles.
What Team Should Draft Brendan Sorsby?
Realistically, it’s hard to find a team that Brendan Sorsby makes sense for. He’s not a good enough prospect for a bad team to bet their future on, and he’d bring too much noise into the locker room for any contender to want him as a backup.
Whether it’s the Cardinals, Colts, Vikings, or another desperate team, someone will inevitably talk themselves into selecting Sorsby in the NFL supplemental draft—and eventually, they will almost assuredly regret it.
