There are many ways to find a franchise quarterback in the NFL. Sometimes, the draft rewards teams with a dynamic prospect. Other times, free agency or trades are the way to go.

For the New York Jets, there may be one additional way: the supplemental draft.

It’s been a long time since an organization found its franchise quarterback in the supplemental draft, which includes college players who become ineligible for the regular NFL draft due to unexpected academic, legal, or disciplinary issues. The last Pro Bowl signal-caller to come out of the supplemental draft was Bernie Kosar with the Cleveland Browns in 1985.

Other teams have found Hall of Fame and All-Pro players like Reggie White, Cris Carter, and Jamal Williams through the same process.

Time will tell if there will ever be another player taken in the supplemental draft that rivals the likes of White, Carter, or Kosar. There hasn’t even been a supplemental draft since 2023, when no players were selected.

But if the situation doesn’t get better for Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, the Jets may be willing to take a flier.

The case of Brendan Sorsby

The sports world was rocked this week when Sorsby announced he was going to rehab for a gambling addiction. It was soon discovered that Sorsby had made thousands of bets via a gambling app.

The discovery obviously threatens the redshirt senior’s eligibility. Sorsby is going into his extra year of college after not playing early in his career with Indiana, but there is a flat ban on gambling at the college and pro levels.

Should the NCAA say that Sorsby’s bets violate their parameters, they could effectively bar him from ever playing a collegiate game again.

Of course, a matter like this would be appealable. The NCAA’s ruling could quickly be challenged by Sorsby in a multitude of ways, potentially even reaching the Supreme Court. As the case is litigated, Sorsby’s representation would only need to file an injunction to play.

Based on that timeline and the knowledge of how slow court cases are usually scheduled, it’s easy to see how Sorsby can play this year with his probe.

But let’s say the NCAA lifts its ban shortly, and the appeals process is swiftly decided in the institution’s favor. Sorsby’s fifth year of eligibility would be gone, and 32 NFL teams would need to determine if the 22-year-old is worthy of picking up in the supplemental draft in July.

For the Jets, the answer is complex.

Should Jets target Sorsby?

For most of the offseason, the Jets’ plan at the quarterback position focused on punting the final answer to 2027 and the perceived loaded draft class with Arch Manning, Dante Moore, LaNorris Sellers, and many others.

Sorsby was anticipated to be one of the top names in the class. That could change with the NFL’s ruling, and it may shift how the Jets think about their quarterback room going forward.

At Cincinnati from 2024-25, Sorsby enjoyed quite a successful two-year run as a starter. Across 24 games with the Bearcats, Sorsby completed just under 63 percent of his passes for 5,613 yards, 45 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, adding 1,118 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground.

On January 4, Sorsby announced he would be transferring to Texas Tech.

New York brought in Geno Smith via a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders to start the offseason. They drafted Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik in the fourth round of the 2026 draft as well.

But for a team desperate to find a franchise quarterback, you can never take too many bites of the apple. If Sorsby is made available in the supplemental draft, the Jets should do what they can to bring him in. That could fundamentally change how their options are perceived in 2027 and beyond.

The way the supplemental draft works is that a team predicts where they would take a specific player. If that “bid” is the highest, the NFL will reward the team with that player, and the organization would forfeit that pick in the following draft.

So when the Philadelphia Eagles bid on Cris Carter in the 1987 supplemental draft, they forfeited a fourth-round pick for the 1988 draft. If the Jets were to bid a third-round pick in the supplemental draft, they would lose that pick in 2027.

That complicates the process a bit because the 2027 class is loaded in several key positions. If the Jets don’t fully believe in Sorsby, they may simply choose to avoid the process altogether.

But if they are high on him and are willing to part with a similar fourth-round pick, perhaps Sorsby could find his way to Florham Park.

Whatever the case, the Jets and 31 other NFL teams will be keeping an eye on the NCAA’s ruling for one of the better quarterbacks of the upcoming class.