The NFL just made life harder for Brendan Sorsby and a handful of other players hoping for a non traditional path into the league. The league announced this week that there will be no 2026 supplemental draft, freezing out Sorsby and other prospects who missed the regular draft window.
The decision came down to discretion. The NFL has the right to decide whether to hold a supplemental draft in any given year, and the league reportedly believed the process would become a distraction to teams as they begin training camps. The competitive calendar issues plus the small number of qualified players this cycle made it an easy call to skip.
Sorsby is the headline name. The Indiana quarterback was reportedly hoping a supplemental draft selection could get him onto an NFL roster after his college career ended in a way that left him unable to enter the regular draft. He had been quietly working out and preparing for the possibility throughout the spring. Now he has to wait until the 2027 draft cycle to chase the league.
For context on the supplemental draft, the process exists for players who become eligible for the league after the regular draft has already happened. Teams can submit bids on players using future draft picks. The system has not produced many notable players in recent years. Bernie Kosar, Cris Carter, and a handful of others remain the big names from a process that has fallen out of favor.
The frequency has dropped significantly. There has not been a supplemental draft since 2019. The league has held one in only a handful of seasons over the past decade. Players who would have been candidates have increasingly tried to enter the regular draft or pursued international leagues. The supplemental draft has become a backup plan, not a real path.
The Sorsby case is the kind of situation that highlights why the system is hard to maintain. Quarterbacks who miss the regular draft window for any reason already have a hard road to the NFL. Without the supplemental draft, his options are limited. He can try out at rookie minicamps. He can sign with the UFL or another spring league. He can wait for an injury that creates a roster opening on a Sunday in November.
For NFL teams, the decision is a relief. Front offices have been working through their UDFA classes and training camp invitations. Adding another round of evaluations and potential bids would have stretched scouting departments that are already trying to put rosters together. Most teams did not lobby for a supplemental draft this year.
The bigger conversation is whether the NFL should ever bring the system back. The XFL and USFL combining to form the UFL has given alternative pathways for players who do not get drafted. Practice squad rules have expanded. International rosters have expanded. The number of ways to get an NFL look has multiplied over the past five years.
For Sorsby specifically, the path forward likely involves the UFL. Quarterbacks with FBS experience and arm talent who do not get NFL looks have increasingly used spring football to build film for NFL evaluations the following year. Several quarterbacks have made the jump from spring leagues to NFL rosters in recent years.
The 2026 supplemental draft saga is a small story in the larger scheme of the NFL offseason. The Giants’ Dexter Lawrence trade to Cincinnati and Trent McDuffie going to the Rams have drawn more attention. But for the players who needed this process, the cancellation matters. The pipeline narrowed by one option.
The 2027 draft now becomes the next opportunity for Sorsby. He will need to find a spring league or some kind of competitive setting where he can put more film together. If he stays in shape and continues to develop, the regular draft cycle will give him the platform that the supplemental version no longer will.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
