The Minnesota Vikings have the QB situation sorted, for now, maybe — but it would be managerial malpractice not to keep an eye turned toward the immediate future, namely the 2027 offseason.
Minnesota’s quarterback room could go in several directions in 2026. But assuming no trades or contract extensions prior to next March, the Vikings will hit the new league year with Kyler Murray heading into unrestricted free agency and JJ McCarthy entering the fourth year of his rookie deal — with a fifth-year team option decision on McCarthy that the Vikings must make by May 1.
Will Minnesota want Murray back? If he performs poorly, probably not. If he plays well, he may prove too expensive on the open market.
Will the Vikings have any affinity or belief remaining in McCarthy? Will McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick in 2024, and his camp be asking for a trade by then, if not before?
Is it even possible — in a scenario in which everything under center goes sour — that Minnesota will have a bad enough record to give it a chance at one of the top prospects in what is reputed to be a QB-rich draft class in 2027?
With all these questions and possibilities on the table — and the Vikings’ chances of securing a franchise QB on a rookie contract for years to come being slim to none in essentially every set of circumstances — Minnesota should be considering the curious case of Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby as a potential target in this summer’s supplemental NFL draft.
Brendan Sorsby May Lose NCAA Eligibility, Enter Supplemental NFL Draft
GettyTexas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby.
The Red Raiders agreed to pay Sorsby $5 million in NIL money to come over from Cincinnati, where he completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 2,800 yards, 27 TDs and five INTs across 12 games last season.
However, Sorsby is facing the potential loss of his eligibility via an NCAA investigation into wagers he made on his own team while a reserve signal-caller at Indiana as a true freshman in 2022. Sorsby has since voluntarily entered an inpatient treatment program for gambling addiction.
Most analysts expect the NCAA to rule against Sorsby, at which point he could attempt to file an injunction to keep his money and eligibility to play for Texas Tech next season. But there is no guarantee the legal process would play out in his favor.
Instead, Sorsby could look to the supplemental draft, which has all but faded away entirely over the past couple of years due to NIL providing pathways for players to stay in college and get paid. But Sorsby’s case is unique, and if he enters the supplemental draft, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero believes he is likely to draw considerable interest around the league.
“If [Sorsby] goes into the supplemental draft, we are probably going to have the highest-drafted supplemental draft player in decades,” Pelissero said. “And teams are going to be balancing out … integrity of the game, the concern over gambling issues and a player who potentially is a franchise quarterback in the NFL.”
Brendan Sorsby Potentially More Talented than 2026 First-Round QBs Fernando Mendoza, Ty Simpson
GettyQuarterback Brendan Sorsby of the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Quarterbacks like Bernie Kosar (Cleveland Browns, 1985) and Steve Walsh (Dallas Cowboys, 1989) ended up first-round picks in the supplemental draft.
The way it works is a team submits a bid based on round (first-round bid, second-round bid, etc). The league then sorts through those bids with regards to the player in question and awards said player to the team that put in the highest bid. That franchise then forfeits its selection in the corresponding round of the normal draft the following spring.
Based on Pelissero’s assessment, the Vikings will likely have to put up their first-round pick to land Sorsby, assuming he enters the supplemental draft. For his entrance to materialize, the NCAA will need to rule on his case by the end of June, after which Sorsby will need to forego his options of legal recourse and declare.
Minnesota may be among multiple teams willing to forfeit a first-rounder in 2027 based on how league executives have evaluated Sorsby.
“[Sorsby] would’ve had a good chance of being right there with [Fernando] Mendoza,” an AFC exec told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated last week. “If he came out in the supplemental [draft], it would depend if you felt like you needed a quarterback. But if the Cardinals think he’s that good, why not take him in the second round? Just from the limited tape I saw, he looked better than Ty [Simpson].”
Vikings Suitor for Divisive Kyler Murray Successor, ‘Potential Franchise QB’