Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken knew what he was getting into when he accepted the job as the seventh full-time head coach under the current ownership group.
The biggest task facing Monken is a familiar one: finding a starting quarterback from a room of options, each more unappealing than the last.
As it stands right now, Monken will be choosing from veteran Deshaun Watson, who has made 19 unimpressive starts since 2020; Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, both coming off rookie seasons that
were the worst in the past 25 years; and Taylen Green, who was selected in the sixth round of this year’s draft.
While everyone is eager (or perhaps fearful) of who will be the starting quarterback this fall, Monken is rightly in no hurry and reiterated this week that it is “my job to let it play out.”
It is almost a certainty that the Browns will open the season with three of those four players on the roster, but what if another option became available this summer in Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby?
Let’s run through the unique situation with Sorsby and see why this might or might not be a smart play by the Browns.
Who is Brendan Sorsby?
Brendan Sorsby is a fifth-year senior who spent two years at Indiana (2022 and 2023) before playing the past two seasons at Cincinnati. While with the Bearcats, he threw for 5,613 yards, 60 touchdowns, and just 18 interceptions.
Sorsby entered the transfer portal earlier this year as a popular target and ultimately landed at Texas Tech, with the plan to have one more solid season before heading off to the NFL.
Things went off the rails earlier this week, however, when the school announced that Sorsby was taking an immediate and indefinite leave of absence from the program because he is entering a treatment program for a gambling addiction.
According to multiple media reports, Sorsby allegedly bet on Indiana football games during his freshman year, and the NCAA is investigating the situation. If it turns out that Sorsby did bet on his own team, he faces a permanent loss of eligibility.
What are Sorsby’s options?
If Sorsby is ruled ineligible for the 2026 season, he could seek a legal injunction allowing him to play this fall. A favorable ruling from a judge is not guaranteed, however, and while Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said the program is supportive of Sorsby getting help, how long they would be willing to wait for Sorsby is unknown.
The other option? Apply to enter the NFL’s Supplemental Draft and join an NFL team this summer.
What is the Supplemental Draft?
The Supplemental Draft was created in 1977 as a way for draft-eligible players who did not declare for the regular NFL Draft. Generally, players in the Supplemental Draft fall into one of two categories:
- Players who have used up their eligibility, like Bernie Kosar, who the Browns selected in 1985.
- Players who are facing academic or disciplinary issues, like Josh Gordon, who the Browns selected in 2012.
The league does not hold a Supplemental Draft every year; the last one was in 2023, and even when they do, it is not a guarantee that teams will participate, as the last player selected in a Supplemental Draft came in 2019.
The draft order is determined through a lottery system and is divided into three groups:
- Teams with six or fewer wins
- The rest of the non-playoff teams
- The 14 playoff teams
If a team is interested in a player, they place a bid in a certain round. If they are awarded the player, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the following NFL Draft. The Browns, for example, used a second-round selection on Gordon, which left them without a second-round selection in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Would the Browns be interested?
Cleveland is still searching for a quarterback, and they need to continue to explore every avenue possible until they find a solution.
Looking at the draft order criteria, the Browns would be among a group of 10 teams with six or fewer wins from last season. But the New York Jets are the only other team in the group that is still searching for a quarterback, so as long as the Browns pick ahead of the Jets, they could land Sorsby.
The 2027 draft class is considered to be a strong one, and Sorsby is part of that conversation based on the belief that he would have a strong season this fall for the Red Raiders, as The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner highlighted:
One of the most sought-after transfers this offseason, Sorsby is another huge QB prospect with really good athleticism and a big-time arm. He played the best ball of his career at Cincinnati last season and probably would’ve been drafted before the end of Day 2 had he declared for the 2026 draft. Instead, he’s earning good NIL money and will have a chance to show what he can do this season against a tougher schedule.
Sorsby needs to work more consistently from the pocket and not have everything break down on him when he’s pressured. Those are frustrating questions to still have about a fifth-year player, but Sorsby could generate some first-round sizzle with a clean 2026 season.
That “clean 2026 season” is now in jeopardy, so Sorsby may have to hope that he showed the past four seasons enough to convince an NFL team he has what it takes.
Should the Browns be interested?
This is where it gets tricky.
The Browns have one of the worst quarterback rooms in the league, and the possibility of one of the current players on the roster being the answer is pretty slim.
But if the gambling accusations turn out to be true, the NFL league office would certainly have a say about Sorsby once he enters the league. When Terrelle Pryor was selected in the Supplemental Draft in 2011, he was hit with a five-game suspension by the league.
Gambling is a much bigger issue for the league, as they’ve shown with suspensions of players like Indianapolis Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, who was hit with an indefinite suspension that caused him to miss the 2023 season before being reinstated.
Any team interested in Sorsby would certainly want some idea from the league office about potential disciplinary action against Sorsby.
The final verdict
The Browns are in no position to ignore any talented quarterback that might be available. And even if Sorsby were to be suspended for the entire 2026 season, the Browns are in a position to get through that and hope for the best in 2027.
Cleveland is finally going to be able to move on from Deshaun Watson after this season and get a clean slate, so it is hard to see the Browns wanting to sign up for another PR hit by bringing in a quarterback who is dealing with a gambling issue.
No matter how desperate they may be to solve the quarterback position.
What do you say, Browns fans? If Brendan Sorsby were to be available in the Supplemental Draft, should the Browns take a shot? Let everyone know in the comments.
