Brendan Sorsby Enters NFL Supplemental Draft: Should Patriots Take Flyer on QB?

If you couldn't get enough of the NFL Draft back in April, you may be able to get some more draft action later this summer. According to ESPN, Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby intends to enter the supplemental draft this summer after a hectic summer.

The 22-year-old Sorsby was originally ruled ineligible by the NCAA after he admitted to several gambling violations during his time throughout college. That included to gambling on Indiana's own games, the team he was on at the time. However, a judge in Lubbock, Texas, overruled the NCAA and allowed Sorsby to play this season.

He was expected to return to college and serve a two-game suspension to open up the 2026 season. Since then, teams across the country have been wary about Texas Tech and have come out against the ruling. Instead, Sorsby has mutually parted ways with the Red Raiders and will now opt into the NFL this season.

Sorsby is a talented quarterback, throwing 27 touchdowns and just five interceptions with the Cincinnati Bearcats last season. He was projected to only get better in Texas Tech's high-powered offense. The skills under center could easily help any NFL team needing a quarterback.

Nov 29, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2) runs with the ball during the game between the Horned Frogs and the Bearcats at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

But with this talented a player entering the league under these circumstances, things can always get wonky. Do the New England Patriots take a chance on him to be their backup behind Drake Maye?

Let's take a look at what the Patriots would even need to give up for Sorsby in a supplemental draft, and what that process has been for New England over the years.

What Is The NFL Supplemental Draft?

The way the supplemental draft works is that a team can use a 2027 draft pick on a player. This hasn't been used in the NFL since 2019, when the Arizona Cardinals drafted safety Jalen Thompson with a third round pick.

It was first held in 1988 as an alternate draft for college players who missed the original filing period for the NFL Draft. Most of the players who go through this process are typically available because of a loss of college eligibility.

Essentially, teams bid on the player using their picks for next season. The league gets broken up into three sections: Teams with six or fewer wins in 2025, the remaining non-postseason teams and the playoff teams. Within those groups, the teams are randomly selected without knowledge of the order.

The draft last seven rounds and teams typically pass on all seven. But if a team wants to bid on a player, they're only allowed to use their own picks, not one they've acquired through a trade. That means that the Patriots are unable to use a fifth or seventh round selection on Sorsby, as they got a fifth from the Chicago Bears in the Garrett Bradbury trade. They also don't have a seventh rounder in the 2027 draft, part of the deal to trade away linebacker Marte Mapu to the Houston Texans.

If a team bids a first round pick on Sorsby, they'll then lose that pick in 2027. It's unlikely the Patriots bid anything higher than a sixth rounder, and even then, that's unlikely to happen considering the quarterback depth currently on the roster.

New England's History In Supplemental Drafts:

Nov 25, 2018; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon (10) runs with the ball against the New York Jets during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Patriots selected Rhode Island wide receiver Chy Davidson with an 11th round pick back in 1981, and Arizona State cornerback J'Juan Cherry with a fourth round pick in 1999. Neither player played in any games with New England, though Cherry was active for two games before being placed on IR with a hip injury.

Former Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon -- who spent part of two seasons in New England, including their Super Bowl LIII-winning team in 2018 -- was drafted with a second round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2012 Supplemental Draft.

Could Sorsby Succeed In New England?

Well, if the Patriots were to acquire Sorsby through the draft, it certainly won't be for the starting job. In fact, it may not even be for the backup job. The team is high on Tommy DeVito, who's looked good to open up his first spring in New England.

The third-string quarterback -- Texas Tech's Behren Morton, who Sorsby was acquired to replace in Lubbock -- was picked by the Patriots in the seventh round of this year's draft. While he hasn't gotten that much run during the offseason practices, the Patriots brought him in for a pre-draft workout before selecting him. It would be hard to imagine that the team moves on from him so quickly into his first season.

But Sorsby is talented, and some people believed he would have been one of the first quarterbacks taken off the board had he been in this year's draft class. In 2027, he could have easily gone in the top five.

A Pro Day for Sorsby has been set for July 10, giving NFL scouts a chance to throw before the draft is officially confirmed. Do the Patriots attend? We'll have a better idea closer to the date, but it wouldn't matter much.

Verdict:

Sep 2, 2023; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes safety Sonny Styles (6) tackles Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Brendan Sorsby (15) during the first half of the NCAA football game at Indiana University Memorial Stadium. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Don't get your hopes up that Sorsby ends up in New England. In fact, it's more likely that he ends up on one of the Patriots' division rivals (New York Jets and Miami Dolphins) than he does the Patriots. With Malik Willis and Geno Smith both set to start this season, maybe those two teams feel inclined to get a head start on what was supposed to be a 2027 rebuild.

The Patriots have their quarterback for the future, and don't need the dark cloud of Sorsby's gambling past hanging over them all season. Stranger things have happened, but I doubt that New England spends a draft pick on what would be the fourth quarterback on the roster.

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