Despite possessing three of the top 30 picks in this year’s draft, the Jets were not in position to land a potential franchise quarterback in the first round. They later selected ex-Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik in the fourth round, but he may not be the last rookie signal-caller they add before the season.
There are few (if any) bigger stories in the NFL right now than Brendan Sorsby‘s expected arrival in the coming weeks. Sorsby, who is leaving Texas Tech and college football amid a gambling scandal, has filed paperwork to enter the supplemental draft in July. Assuming the league approves, Sorsby is poised to become the first player taken in the supplemental event since 2018.
Despite Sorsby’s off-field issues, teams appear willing to spend a relatively high pick on the former Cincinnati starter. Any club that chooses the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder would have to part with a 2027 draft pick for his services. That may be the Jets, who are the most likely landing spot for Sorsby, according to Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom. Expectations are Sorsby will go in the second round, La Canfora adds.
While a second-rounder is a lot to give up, particularly in what’s supposed to be a loaded draft class, the Jets are better equipped to do it than most teams. After all, they will still have three first-rounders at their disposal for the second straight year. Picking Sorsby next month may not necessarily preclude them from grabbing one of the premier QB prospects in 2027, when Oregon’s Dante Moore and Texas’ Arch Manning could be the top options available.
With training camp approaching, Klubnik, Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook are set to vie for the Jets’ QB2 job behind Geno Smith. While Smith is their unquestioned starter, the 35-year-old isn’t considered anything more than a stopgap for the rebuilding franchise. If New York reels in Sorsby, there is a good chance he will see action at some point in 2026.
“If Sorsby goes there, he plays this year,” one executive told La Canfora.
If Sorsby does not become a Jet, Detroit and Cleveland may be a couple of other possible destinations. The Lions, who are lacking developmental prospects behind starter Jared Goff, are not slamming the door on Sorsby.
“All I can tell you is that we look at everything,” head coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “[General manager] Brad [Holmes] looks at everything and so nothing is off the docket, so our eyes are open. Doesn’t mean we will make a move or we won’t.”
The Lions have recent experience with a past gambling scandal, which they went through in 2023 when the league suspended five of their players for a violation of its policy. That included star wide receiver Jameson Williams, who is still with the team. The other four – C.J. Moore, Quintez Cephus, Stanley Berryhill and Demetrius Taylor – are long gone.
Elsewhere, despite Browns head coach Todd Monken‘s leeriness toward Sorsby, Tony Grossi of TheLandOnDemand.com expects the team to bid on him. There is no word on how high of a draft choice Cleveland would be willing to surrender.
When asked earlier this month about drafting Sorsby, Monken said: “I think that’s a slippery slope, when you go down that [road]. Irrespective of talent, in terms of the situation [Sorsby’s] put himself in, we all know what that is. He put himself in that situation. And we’ve seen in other sports with players that have been banned for life from playing in professional sports.”
Monken’s concerns are understandable, though he acknowledged it is general manager Andrew Berry‘s decision to make. Berry may pull the trigger in hopes of finally finding a solution for the QB-starved franchise. Otherwise, they are on track to head into camp with Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and rookie sixth-rounder Taylen Green as their QBs.
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