The Cleveland Browns have made a lot of bad moves in the history of their franchise, and now everyone seems to want them to make another. The nonsensical move that Cleveland is currently being connected to is adding quarterback prospect Brendan Sorsby, who was essentially forced out of the NCAA for gambling, in the NFL Supplemental Draft.
On the surface level, it’s clear how people could arrive at the idea that the Browns should draft Sorsby. Cleveland hasn’t committed to a quarterback of the future yet, and Sorsby is an intriguing QB prospect who teams could land at a value in the supplemental draft.
However, all it takes is a little bit of thought beyond those circumstances to realize that Cleveland adding Sorsby to the roster wouldn’t make much sense for the franchise.
A Brendan Sorsby bid could cost the Browns more than it's worth
If Sorsby is granted entry into the supplemental draft, he’s expected to be worth a second-round bid, or a third-round bid at the least. With how the supplemental draft works, the winning team would be using their draft pick from the 2027 NFL Draft to land the quarterback.
With Sorsby believed to be a quarterback who could have played his way into the top 10 of the 2027 draft, it’s clear why a team would get excited about landing a talent like him with a second-round pick.
Here’s where things get tricky, especially for the Browns. The NFL could decide to suspend Sorsby, which would mean he won’t be allowed around the team for the duration of the suspension. That could be anywhere from four weeks to a full season. In other words, a team like Cleveland potentially wouldn't have an extended opportunity to develop and evaluate him in Year 1.
Even if Sorsby isn’t suspended, he probably wouldn’t play much, if at all, as a rookie in Cleveland. Head coach Todd Monken has already indicated that either Shedeur Sanders or Deshaun Watson will be this year's starter, and he doesn’t seem to be a big fan of Sorsby.
Additionally, Sorsby will first be joining the team in training camp, putting him significantly behind. He isn’t considered to be an all-time great prospect who can just jump into an NFL lineup and get things shaking, so barring multiple injuries, he likely wouldn’t see the field.
So either by suspension or circumstance, Sorsby won’t play many games as a rookie in Cleveland. That means the Browns will enter the 2027 draft, which is expected to feature a loaded quarterback class, without a true evaluation on Sorsby. At that point, the Browns will either abandon Sorsby and draft a quarterback in the first round, or ignore a great quarterback class in hopes that Sorsby pans out.
It’s clear how both of those options would look bad. On one hand, Cleveland would have essentially sacrificed a second-round pick for nothing. On the other hand, the Browns would be committing to an unproven QB with an off-field concern over quarterbacks who are potentially better prospects.
The only way to avoid either of those outcomes is to just not explore adding Brendan Sorsby at all. The Browns should just see what they have in their current quarterback room, and if things don’t work out, they can prepare to take a top prospect in 2027.
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