Brendan Sorsby is set to enter the NFL’s supplemental draft as quite a controversial entity. He’s got a ton of talent, which will intrigue many NFL teams. But the fallout from his gambling situation makes things a bit messy. And for a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers, it may be a little late to consider him with Will Howard and Drew Allar already on the roster.
That’s an opinion many Steelers fans hold. With four quarterbacks fighting to make the roster, it’s hard to find room for another. But ESPN’s Bill Barnwell offers a different take.
“I understand they just took Drew Allar, they took Will Howard. There’s nothing wrong with like, saying we’re gonna take a bunch of singles, we’re gonna try to hit a home run without swinging for the fences,” Barnwell said on the Football 301 podcast. “If there was ever gonna be a path to you getting a player who fits your archetype for how you’re going to fix this position, Sorsby feels like that guy. This is an opportunity to get a player who might be really valuable this time next year, if he’d been able to play college football… This is the kind of swing the Steelers should be taking.”
With the Steelers looking to compete next year, there’s not a great chance they draft high enough to take a top quarterback in the first round. Thus, Sorsby is an intriguing candidate for the Steelers. He was widely expected to be one of the first quarterbacks off the board next year. Now, the Steelers could land him with what might be as low as a Day 3 pick.
On one hand, having Sorsby with Rodgers in the building could make sense. If there are any repercussions coming from the NFL in Sorsby’s rookie year, he probably wouldn’t have been on the field anyway. The Steelers could also hope that a year on the sidelines helps him sort out some of the off-field problems.
But it would also give the Steelers three young quarterbacks who likely won’t play this year. Mason Rudolph would surely be gone, and Will Howard might be as well. Pittsburgh already is going to have to move on from one. Drafting Sorsby would add yet another tough decision.
Barnwell isn’t wrong that more young options in the building could be a good thing. Especially for a team that needs a long-term answer at the position. But some will tell you that if you have multiple quarterback options, you have none. And having a third-round pick, a sixth-round pick, and a supplemental draft pick with off-field concerns wouldn’t make for the most secure quarterback room.
The Steelers are doing their due diligence on Sorsby. Like every other NFL team, they should be. There isn’t much else going on in the NFL right now. The whole league will want to take a look at his talent level, which is rare to come by this late in the offseason. Barnwell thinks the Steelers should be at the front of that effort.
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