Brendan Sorsby is suddenly available, and the NFL’s most quarterback-needy rosters should be paying attention. The Texas Tech transfer plans to enter the supplemental draft rather than fight a losing eligibility battle over his gambling case, which drops one of the more talented arms outside the 2026 class onto the open market this summer. The Jets, Dolphins, and Browns each have reason to put in a bid.
Brendan Sorsby’s Supplemental Draft Price Should Stay Cheap
The supplemental draft is not the spring draft. Teams submit blind bids by round, and the club with the highest bid wins the player while forfeiting that same pick in the 2027 draft. Bid a fourth-rounder on Sorsby, lose a 2027 fourth-rounder. No player has been taken since the Cardinals spent a fifth on Jalen Thompson in 2019, so the bar for entry is low.
That price tag matters more than usual here. The 2027 quarterback class is loaded, and no front office wants to surrender real capital in a banner year for a passer who would have been a Day 2 pick at best. PFSN graded Sorsby as the third-best quarterback in the 2026 class behind first-rounders Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson, with the gambling fallout dragging his stock down further. Expect the bidding to top out around the fourth round.
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The talent is real, though. At 6 feet 3 and 235 pounds, Sorsby throws with rare velocity and fits the ball into tight windows from multiple arm angles. He threw for 2,800 yards with 27 touchdowns and five interceptions at Cincinnati in 2025, adding 580 yards and nine scores on the ground. PFSN’s QB Impact metric ranked him 10th in FBS at 88.2.
The flaws are just as visible. He locks onto his first read, forces throws he shouldn’t, and his accuracy outside the numbers to his right falls off a cliff. He is a project, not a plug-and-play answer.
Why the Jets Fit Brendan Sorsby Better Than the Browns or Dolphins
New York has the cleanest opening. Geno Smith leads the room and rookie Cade Klubnik projects as the developmental QB2, but the rest of the depth chart is unsettled, and Sorsby’s legs give him a genuine edge over Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook. The Jets can stash a developmental arm with zero pressure to play him, which is exactly the environment a one-read passer needs.
Cleveland offers the most crowded room. Deshaun Watson is the early favorite to start, with Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and rookie Taylen Green already behind him, so coach Todd Monken would be stacking yet another young arm onto a roster that has plenty. That is more of a numbers crunch than a clear runway, but the Browns chase quarterback help every offseason, and a Day 3 flier fits the pattern.
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Miami is the steepest climb. The Dolphins signed Malik Willis to a three-year deal and already carry Quinn Ewers, Cam Miller and undrafted rookie Mark Gronowski, with Ewers flashing in three starts late last season. Sorsby would be fighting just to make the 53.
None of it happens unless a team decides a 2027 pick is worth spending in July. That, not the talent, is the real question. Sorsby carries a starter’s ceiling and a backup’s floor, and this draft has a history of turning throwaway bids into steals (Cris Carter and Josh Gordon both came through it). For a Day 3 cost, the Jets would be smart to find out what they have.
Soresby Might Peak Some Surprise Teams’ Interest
The usual QB-needy teams should easily be a factor for Brendan Sorsby, particularly the Browns and Jets, who are both projected to have an excess of early and mid-round capital in the 2027 NFL Draft. There are a few more wild cards among them, however, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Buccaneers were content with Baker Mayfield, who at his best was a fringe Top 12 QB over the past few years, but Mayfield’s regression between the first and second halves of the 2025 season was startling, to say the least.
From Week 1 to Week 10 in 2025, Baker Mayfield totaled 16 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions. In the final eight games of the year, he threw just 10 scores to 9 picks. That regression is likely one reason why Tampa Bay has appeared reluctant to extend him; drafting Sorsby would be a future-minded and cost-effective move for a team that might’ve seen its window pass by.
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Pittsburgh and Minnesota, meanwhile, both have prospective starters on one-year deals; Aaron Rodgers is expected to have one last swan song with Mike McCarthy, while Kyler Murray is on a prove-it deal while battling JJ McCarthy for the starting job. The Vikings have two third-round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, so they could feasibly take the inside line on Sorsby by spending Day 2 supplemental capital, for a tools-rich QB whom Kevin O’Connell would be able to mold.
In either location, Sorsby wouldn’t face immediate pressure to take starting reps, but in Pittsburgh, learning from the apex QB of Sorsby’s stylistic archetype in Rodgers would be particularly advantageous. In Minnesota, Sorsby would present an investment in the type of talent McCarthy has proven not to match, for a potential bargain price.
