The saga of Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has ended in terms of his college football eligibility, as he has now decided to pursue the NFL via the supplemental draft. Now, the NFL will have to decided what do with his admission about gambling, and teams will have to decide if he's worth a shot.
As Josh Edwards of CBS Sports reminds us, the supplemental draft amounts to a silent auction. Teams will submit which round, if any, they would select Sorsby in. If multiple teams submit a bid in the same round, his rights would go to the team that was highest in this year's draft.
The winning team would then lose the corresponding pick in 2027, so there is a measure of risk involved.
That being said, Sorsby would likely have been well-regarded in this year's draft class of quarterbacks, and he was considered a potential first-round pick next year if he had suited up for Texas Tech this season.
Edwards has also named eight teams who could have interest in Sorsby. The Detroit Lions, amid an ongoing effort to cultivate a young quarterback behind Jared Goff, made the list.
"Jared Goff turns 32-years-old during the upcoming season and his primary backups are 33-year-old Teddy Bridgewater and undrafted free agent Luke Altmyer. The team had previously used a third-round pick on Hendon Hooker in 2023, but Hooker had never been a threat to Goff's claim as the starting quarterback and is now on his fourth team. Sorsby could be Goff, but three years later on the timeline. The Lions are likely to be too competitive to find themselves within striking distance of a top quarterback in the 2027 NFL Draft, so this represents an opportunity to address the position at a value rate."
Brendan Sorsby and the Lions don't look like a good fit
As leagues have embraced partnerships with gambling companies, it's an ongoing battle to make sure players don't fall prey to a low barrier to entry. It seems cut and dry that players should not bet on the sport they play or the league they play in, or obviously place bets involving the team they play for, but it has happened.
As gambling started to become more prevalent, the Lions dealt with it first hand in a big way. In April of 2023, wide receiver Jameson Williams was among four Lions' players suspended for violating the league's gambling policy.
Williams' original six-game suspension was eventually reduced to four games.
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The league admitted things weren't spelled out as well as they could've been at that point in time, but head coach Dan Campbell also acknowledged an effort by the Lions to re-educate people about the NFL's gambling policy.
Williams avoided a one-year suspension, practically by accident after he said he was not aware of the gambling policy, because he had not placed bets on the NFL.
While Sorsby's betting ordeal is not something that has to impact his chance at an NFL career, it will be remembered whenever his name comes up. His talent is absolutely worth taking a chance on, but it's particularly hard to envision the Lions submitting a supplemental draft bid that'll be nearly good enough to get him. If they submit a bid at all.
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