Put the Philadelphia Eagles in the middle of all the supplemental draft talk you want — in no universe would their sacrificing a 2027 draft pick to get Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby end in anything but abject disaster. No matter the round.
Sorsby is becoming the most controversial quarterback prospect to come along in some time, and if the Eagles want him, they must also want to throw away part of their future.
Were the Eagles to take Sorsby, who was a possible No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL draft, it would not only threaten to tank their 2026 season — a year in which they might be Super Bowl contenders — but it would throw a cloud over the franchise for years to come.
That means there’s 1 correct move: Stay as far away from Sorsby as humanly possible.
To wit: Sorsby was banned by the NCAA for placing approximately 9,000 bets over the last 4 years, including betting on his own team when he played for Indiana. Texas Tech and Sorsby went to court to get him back on the field, and a district court judge granted him a temporary injunction on June 8. That injunction would have allowed Sorsby to play in 2026.
After several days of cross-the-board condemnation, including several schools beginning talks of boycotting games against Texas Tech, Sorsby declared he was headed to the NFL.
Sorsby is bad for the Eagles from a PR sense, and in a world where the payoff in draft picks is 50-50, if you’re lucky, it’s not worth drafting 1 with that much of a past and who you know to be so wholly unreliable already.
Do the Eagles want to draft the next Art Schlichter? That seems hard to believe in the face of so many smart decisions by the team in recent years.
NFL Could Still Suspend QB Brendan Sorsby
Sorsby would be the 1st player taken in the supplemental draft since Dallas Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson in 2019 and the 1st quarterback taken since the Oakland Raiders selected Tyrelle Pryor in 2011.
Pryor is actually an interesting template for how the NFL might treat Sorsby or make sure they mete out punishment. Facing a 5-game suspension in 2011 from Ohio State for selling memorabilia, Pryor faced further controversy in the offseason when more allegations of pay-for-autographs surfaced, and he withdrew from the university amid pressure.
After the supplemental draft, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell ruled Pryor would still serve the 5-game suspension to start his rookie year.
Point of Order: Eagles Already Have Great QB
Let’s not forget that, however many rumors pop up linking Sorsby to the Eagles, the Eagles not only already have a great quarterback in long-time starter and Super Bowl LIX MVP Jalen Hurts, but they also have a highly sought-after backup quarterback in Tanner McKee.
McKee is a 2023 6th-round pick who might be able to bring back a Day 2 pick for a team desperate for a quarterback — the type of teams who should be in the mix for Sorsby.
“The Cardinals are the most obvious choice, as they don’t have an exciting starting option on their roster,” ESPN’s Ben Solak wrote on June 15. “Veterans Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew II are known backup types, while third-round rookie Carson Beck doesn’t project as a high-end starter. Sorsby would easily clear Beck as the potential franchise passer. However, the Cardinals might not wish to spend any 2027 capital as they gear up for a bigger swing in the upcoming draft. The Browns are in a similar boat.”
Eagles Only Have One Path Forward With QB Brendan Sorsby