With Brendan Sorsby off to the NFL Supplemental Draft, the next question is where he lands. The former Texas Tech quarterback is withdrawing his eligibility lawsuit after mutually parting ways with the Red Raiders earlier this week.
To Todd McShay, one team has a “unique opportunity” to select Sorsby in the Supplemental Draft, considering how scouts view his skillset. He floated the Pittsburgh Steelers as a possible landing spot.
McShay pointed out other teams that could take a chance on Sorsby – such as the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals or Miami Dolphins – and the Steelers’ recent draft history. The franchise never finished below .500 under Mike Tomlin. That means Pittsburgh picked in the later part of the first round of the NFL Draft. As a result, the top quarterbacks were likely off the board.
But scouts and analysts are high on Sorsby’s upside. That’s why McShay argued the Steelers could be in the mix.
“Can’t you see the Steelers?” McShay said on The McShay Show. “Because the Steelers have been mired in this, we’re good enough every year. We’re right on the fringe. We’re either in the playoffs, getting knocked out early or we just miss the playoffs. So we’re always picking around 21 or 23 or 25, so we can’t get that guy. … This is a unique opportunity for the Steelers. I’m just throwing it out there.”
The NFL Supplemental Draft, which hasn’t taken place since 2023, features teams divided into three groups. One is teams with six or fewer wins in the prior season, another is the rest of the teams that missed the playoffs and the final grouping is the playoff teams. The order is then randomly selected.
From there, a team can bid one of its following year’s draft picks on a player. The team that submits the highest pick gets the player and forfeits the corresponding pick in the next year’s NFL Draft.
Typically, players are eligible for the NFL Supplemental Draft if they are not eligible to play college football. The NCAA deemed Sorsby ineligible following an investigation into gambling allegations. Although a judge ruled he could play in 2026, he later chose not to suit up for Texas Tech and will instead apply for the Supplemental Draft.
Todd McShay ‘can’t rule out Pittsburgh’
With the Jets, Cardinals and Browns in the first group, among others, McShay said the Steelers might not be able to wait until the second round of the NFL Supplemental Draft to take Brendan Sorsby. If Tomlin was still in charge, he’d think Pittsburgh would be the most likely landing spot.
But with new head coach Mike McCarthy running the show, he’s not as sure. McShay noted his history with Aaron Rodgers, though.
“Pittsburgh has tried so long to find their guy at quarterback. … If Mike Tomlin were still the head coach of the Steelers, I’d say book it that they put in a bid late-one,” McShay said. “I don’t know with Mike McCarthy, although I’m not ruling it out. Mike McCarthy had a gun-slinging young quarterback in Aaron Rodgers that they sat and developed.
“I shouldn’t say why wouldn’t – I know the reasons why they wouldn’t. I just, I can’t rule out Pittsburgh.”
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