Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken has the unenviable task of selecting a starting quarterback this summer from a room of rather unqualified candidates.
Veteran Deshaun Watson’s last good season came in 2020, second-year quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are coming off the worst rookie seasons the league has seen in 25 years, and sixth-round draft choice Taylen Green has a long way to go to move beyond developmental status.
That has led everyone to assume that general manager Andrew
Berry is booking tickets to a variety of college campuses this fall to scout the expected 2027 class of draftable quarterbacks.
There is one wild card in all this in the form of Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who could have worked himself into the first round of the 2027 NFL Draft with a good showing this fall.
The only problem is that Sorsby is currently a player without a team after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA for betting on Indiana football games while playing for the Hoosiers in 2022. Sorsby formally requested reinstatement, but on Tuesday, the NCAA denied the request, according to ESPN.
Texas Tech plans to appeal the decision and continues to support Sorsby, according to The Athletic.
In addition to his request to the NCAA, Sorsby has a lawsuit pending against the NCAA seeking a temporary injunction allowing him to play this fall, with a court date set for June 1 in Lubbock County, Texas.
The urgency is that if Sorsby is ruled ineligible, he can enter the NFL Supplemental Draft, but the deadline to do that is June 22.
If he becomes available this summer, Berry and Monken would have to decide if they want to risk using a 2027 draft pick to select Sorsby while not knowing if or how hard the NFL could come down on him because of his past gambling issues.
While there is a lot to like about Sorsby, he needs more time to develop, which the Browns could give him this fall. Plus, there is the gambling issue, and with Cleveland having dealt with Watson’s off-field issues for the past four years, they may not be ready for another potential PR issue with a quarterback.
