In order for Brendan Sorsby to make sense for the Cleveland Browns, everyone has to make peace with the fact he's going to be a non-factor this season as well as in the decision to add another quarterback next offseason. That's before getting into a number of uncomfortable realities along the way.
Sorsby is a big, athletic quarterback with a fair amount of talent. Just how much talent depends on who weighs in, but right now, he's at best a day two talent who might have worked his way into the first round with a strong season. A season Sorsby isn't going to get for reasons entirely of his own making.
There's a compelling argument that the Browns should take as many swings at the quarterback position until they find the right one. So to potentially get talent at a discount is an opportunity too good to pass up.
The first problem is the talent isn't at a discount. It's going to be sticker price. The process of the supplemental draft has inverse incentives compared to the traditional draft. Teams can put in one bid per player. They don't get to play the board. As a result, teams are effectively bidding against other teams and themselves for the services of a player if they truly want him.
Shedeur Sanders was in the first round conversation in the 2025 draft. Some of the same people making the argument for the Browns to bid on Sorsby with a pick as high as the second round were making the case to take Sanders with the second pick of that draft.
Teams played the board and Sanders fell. The Browns were able to get him in round five. That scenario doesn't play out in the supplemental draft. Maybe Sanders doesn't go in round 1, but in the supplemental format, he might well have gone in two or three.
Similarly, Taylen Green was someone that many believed could go as high as the fourth round. The Browns played the board and ended up with Green in round six.