Todd McShay just threw gas on the Browns’ QB drama with one podcast

We’ve reached the point in the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback saga where the NFL’s often under-the-radar supplemental draft is seriously being discussed as a potential lifeline.

For context, the supplemental draft is rarely used. Its purpose is to accommodate players in unique situations — like former Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon in 2012. Gordon was ineligible for the 2012 NFL Draft under the league's former transfer rules after being dismissed from Baylor University. The NFL approved him as a supplemental draft prospect that summer, meaning teams in select categories could bid on Gordon by submitting which round they would use on the player. 

The Browns famously bid a second-round pick and were awarded Gordon in July of 2012. The team forfeited their second-round selection in the 2013 NFL Draft to complete the transaction.

These instances are rare, however. The NFL’s last supplemental draft pick was safety Jaylen Thompson to the Arizona Cardinals on a fifth-round bid in 2019. The last time the NFL approved players for auction was back in the summer of 2023, but no players were selected.

Longtime NFL Draft guru Todd McShay believes that could change this summer if Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, college football’s No. 1-ranked transfer this year, fails to regain his college eligibility amid an online sports gambling investigation.

On his latest podcast episode, McShay dumped even more gas on the fire by listing the Browns on his short list of teams to have a bid ready if Sorsby's situation progresses to that point.

As for what that bid should be? The quote here speaks for itself.

“If I’m, I don’t know, the Browns, the Dolphins. … the Jets, the Cardinals — I’m meeting as if this is April 1st or maybe March 15th with my staff right now. Like, ‘Come back.’ We’re having big group meetings, because if we have the quarterback coach, and we have the contract the right way, we have the psychologist putting a stamp on it, we have the FBI agents working in the security department in our organization — if we can get aligned and say, collectively, we are comfortable taking this risk? I’m not batting an eye man,” McShay said.

“And I’m doing it with a first-round pick,” he added later, “because I’m not risking it. I want this guy. … I’m going and getting this guy, and I’m doing it because I think he has a chance to be special."

The scenario Todd McShay floated could take Cleveland’s QB chaos to another level

With all due respect to McShay, this is the last thing the Browns and their fans need right now. 

According to an ESPN report, Sorsby is also being probed by gambling regulators for placing “thousands of online bets on a variety of sports." The school announced this week that Sorsby has checked into a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction. He also retained attorney Jeffrey Kessler, per ESPN, in what’s expected to be an upcoming fight to regain his college eligibility for the 2026 season.

Even in the hypothetical event that Sorsby’s appeal is denied, and he gains approval to enter the NFL’s supplemental draft, that wouldn’t protect him from future punishment from the league. He could potentially open his NFL career with a suspension. For what it’s worth, McShay acknowledged that point without backing down from his take. 

The Browns have made some wild organizational decisions over the years. To finally reach the end of the Watson ordeal, only to invite Sorsby’s situation into the mix? That would be an extreme even the Browns wouldn't subject themselves to, right? 

McShay lost me when he had FBI agents joining the scouting department to offer their “stamp of approval.” This idea makes for fun conjecture on a podcast, but in reality, the Browns should continue what has been a cautious approach in recent seasons and take their chances in the real 2027 draft, when they’ll have another year’s worth of information and data to plan their next move.

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