Former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is officially eyeing the NFL via the supplemental draft, which is expected to happen in late July. But the path from here isn’t just about his arm strength or his college tape. It’s about a gambling suspension and what teams really think about what’s behind it.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated spoke with league executives who are trying to figure out whether Sorsby is a risk worth taking. And the answers aren’t simple.
“The way I’d look at the gambling, I don’t really care if he’s suspended for part of this year so much,” one AFC exec told Breer. “What I care about is, can I sleep good at night knowing it’s behind him? I know he went to rehab, but was that a reaction to getting caught or a real effort to get past it?”
That’s the kind of question that keeps front offices up at night. Nobody wants to burn a draft pick on a guy who might end up back on the shelf for the same reason. The league has been hammering players on gambling violations lately, and taking on a guy with a known issue means doing real homework.
Context matters more than the suspension itself
Another AFC exec framed it in even simpler terms. They want to know the specifics of what happened.
“I want the context of it—was he sitting on the couch bored, a kid punching bets into his phone, or was this strategic and planned out and all that?” the exec said. “If this is just a guy on his phone placing bets, that’s correctable. That’s not harming anyone else.”
That distinction matters. If Sorsby’s betting was compulsive and reactive, it’s a very different evaluation than if he was running some kind of scheme or working with outside handlers. Teams are trying to figure out if the guy can be trusted going forward, not just whether he’s eligible for Week 1.
Sorsby’s injunction against the NCAA over the gambling issue added another layer. It got him in front of people earlier than usual, but it also put a spotlight on his personal habits in a way most draft prospects never have to deal with.
The supplemental draft is its own kind of gamble
For those who need a refresher: In the supplemental draft, teams bid using 2027 draft capital. Whichever team offers the best pick gets the player. It’s not a lottery. It’s a blind auction where you have to guess what everyone else is willing to pay.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that Sorsby could carry a second-round price tag. That’s significant for a guy who might not even play a full season in Year 1 if the league hits him with a suspension.
So the real question isn’t whether Sorsby can throw. It’s whether some team’s scouting department can convince a GM that this is a fixable problem. The upside is real. The risk is real. And the supplemental draft doesn’t give you a do-over.
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