The Cleveland Browns have had major question marks at quarterback nearly the entire time since they rejoined the NFL in 1999. Those questions remain in 2026 as Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders are set to battle it out for Week 1 starting duties, though all signs point toward Watson having the upper hand.
Many believe the plan all along to finally solve this long-standing QB issue was to bridge the gap until the 2027 draft, where there is projected to be a deep crop of potential franchise-altering quarterback prospects. One of those prospects was supposed to be Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby, but his future is now a complete unknown after he got caught gambling on his own college games and was ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA.
Sorsby’s name has been connected to the Browns a number of times since his path to the NFL may come via the rarely-used supplemental draft, where Cleveland could bring him aboard. David Payne Purdum of ESPN recently shared an update containing a snippet from his recent article about the specifics of Sorsby’s gambling, and it could be enough to turn even the most optimistic Browns fans off of the idea of taking him in the supplemental draft.
“Docs: Brendan Sorsby placed at least 40 bets involving Indiana football as a quarterback for the Hoosiers, used sportsbook accounts registered to a family member and friends to wager approximately $90,000 over four years, and continued to gamble after transferring from Cincinnati to Texas Tech in December,” said Purdum.
Docs: Brendan Sorsby placed at least 40 bets involving Indiana football as a quarterback for the Hoosiers, used sportsbook accounts registered to a family member and friends to wager approximately $90,000 over four years, and continued to gamble after transferring from Cincinnati…
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) May 29, 2026
This situation was already bad, but these details really throw kerosene on an open fire. Jameson Williams got suspended for six games for betting on college football while he was at the Detroit Lions’ facility. Calvin Ridley got suspended for a whole year for betting a total of around $1,500 on NFL games over a five-day period while he was away from the team.
But 40 bets on your own team, as well as $90,000 total under accounts registered to family members? There’s a real chance Sorsby never sees the NFL and every team passes on him in the supplemental draft. The Browns have had enough controversy at quarterback over the years, and with so many exciting prospects waiting in 2027, this team doesn’t need to ruin the current vibes by taking on another troubled project.
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