After a drawn-out legal battle, Brendan Sorsby’s collegiate career is over. The former Texas Tech Red Raider was ruled ineligible by the NCAA due to a gambling probe related to his time with the Indiana Hoosiers earlier in his career.
Sorsby has now applied for the NFL’s supplemental draft, and New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum believes that Sorsby could be the answer for the Pittsburgh Steelers after this season, with Pittsburgh’s current quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, retiring after this season.
“From a team-building standpoint, it is so hard to find quarterbacks,” Tannenbaum said. “So there are some teams, in my opinion, non-obvious teams like Minnesota, Atlanta, Carolina, that may sit there and say, ‘Wow, in the second or third round, we may have a quarterback for the next 10 years.’
“What about Pittsburgh? And then you layer on teams like Arizona, Miami, the Jets, there’s going to be a bunch of teams that are going to take a long look at this opportunity.”
The Steelers aren’t the only AFC North team being floated as a potential suitor for Sosby, either. There has been noise around the sort of fit Sorsby might have with the Cleveland Browns, and Browns general manager Andrew Berry touched on the circumstances surrounding the embattled quarterback.
“I think there are two things,” Berry told Anthony Lima and Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan. “There are two questions I ask, because we’re all human and I’d imagine everybody that’s on this call and listening to this show, I’m sure everyone has made mistakes.
“I really ask two questions: I ask, No. 1, is this a bad person, or did they make a bad decision? And then the second piece is, what are they doing after the fact … to correct the behavior. Is this a pattern of decision-making? And if so, have they done something to stop the pattern? Or is this an isolated incident? Because the reality of it is, we’re all going to screw up. And some, certainly, mistakes are greater in magnitude than others.
“But I think the most important thing in Brendan’s case is what he does from here. Obviously, it’s a great first step to get the help that he needs. But then it’s like, OK, what is around him? What is he doing to make sure that he can maintain healthy habits moving forward? So, it seems like it’s a very good start there. Obviously, I don’t know all the details at this point. But I think, probably, within society, so to speak, we could all use a little bit more grace.”
The supplemental draft is expected to be held in late July, but the NFL will need to approve Sorsby’s application before any team can select him.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.