Steelers’ Brendan Sorsby Chase Shockingly Ends

In a bit of a surprising twist, the Pittsburgh Steelers no longer appear to have a shot at landing Brendan Sorsby in the supplemental draft.

Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby goes through warmups before the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It seems the Pittsburgh Steelers will no longer have an opportunity to land a promising quarterback prospect ahead of the 2026 season.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, a judge in district court in Lubbock County, Texas, where Texas Tech is located, has granted an injunction requested by Red Raiders signal caller Brendan Sorsby that will now make him eligible for the upcoming college football campaign.

NEWS: A judge in district court in Lubbock County, Texas, has granted the injunction requested by Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby. He’s set to be eligible for the 2026 season. pic.twitter.com/31IjwqyxaM

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) June 8, 2026

Thamel added that as part of the ruling, the NCAA is barred from preventing Sorsby from "practicing, playing or otherwise participating on Texas Tech's football team for the 2026 season."

Sorsby had previously been ruled ineligible by the NCAA following an investigation stemming from gambling, which allegedly including doing so on Indiana football games during his time with the program before transferring to Cincinnati and later Texas Tech this offseason.

What This Means for Steelers in 2026 and Beyond

Following what was one of the weaker quarterback classes in recent memory in the 2026 NFL Draft, the chance to select Sorsby in the supplemental draft was an alluring one for Pittsburgh and a number of other organizations around the league.

A big-armed and mobile signal caller with all of the necessary physical tools to eventually develop into a potential franchise-level talent, Sorsby had been projected as one of the top prospects at the position in the 2027 NFL Draft.

For that reason, he may have ended up going for a Day 1 or 2 pick had he entered the supplemental draft. Instead, Sorsby is primed to join a Texas Tech team that made the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history last year and could boost his stock with a strong showing in 2026.

Brendan Sorsby runs with the ball during the Texas Tech football team's spring game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Pittsburgh will now move forward with Aaron Rodgers, Will Howard, Mason Rudolph and rookie Drew Allar as its quarterback room this summer.

The team never felt like a particularly likely landing spot for Sorsby after selecting Allar in the third round and re-signing Rodgers, but they could've made room for him if they truly believed he was capable of coming in and establishing himself as the future at the position.

With Rodgers entrenched as the starter and Allar likely to handle the No. 3 quarterback duties, the focus remains on who will win the backup job between Howard and Rudolph.

Regardless of how this season plays out, though, it's all but certain the Steelers will make it a priority to land one of the top quarterbacks in next year's NFL Draft, with a trade-up may being necessary depending on where their pick falls.

That means Sorsby is still an option to land in Pittsburgh, but he's far from the only signal caller who should entice the organization once the time arrives.

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