Brendan Sorsby has been monopolizing a lot of real estate this offseason, and now with the supplemental NFL Draft as his lifeline, the attention turns to all the quarterback-needy teams that could bid a 2027 pick on him. The Cleveland Browns are the first team to come to mind, with the Arizona Cardinals a close second. The New York Jets are a team that will always be in the middle of quarterback conversations as well.
But what if Sorsby isn’t the best option for these teams when it comes to addressing their quarterback? Sorsby is still very unproven, and he’s not saving anybody’s franchise this season — if that were the case, he would have declared for the 2026 NFL Draft instead of the transfer portal. Here are alternatives that other QB-needy teams should consider.
Jacoby Brissett
The Arizona Cardinals are in a contract dispute with Jacoby Brissett, and it’s ironic for quite a few reasons. The best way for the Cardinals to move on from this unnecessary drama is to simply trade him; Arizona doesn’t have a long term plan in place for him and truthfully won’t need him with the state of this team at the moment. One team that would benefit from Brissett is the New York Jets. They need a reputable quarterback who will do just enough to keep Aaron Glenn off the hot seat without being the difference in them contending or not.
Brissett was a top-15 quarterback last year, believe it or not, and the Cardinals were still a three-win team. That should tell you everything you need to know about what Brissett can offer. The Jets turned to Geno Smith, but that feels like a trainwreck waiting to happen. New York supposedly looked at Russell Wilson as an option before he decided to retire. This is a safe move to ensure mediocre quarterback play without risking a good draft spot.
The Jets shouldn’t be looking at Sorsby because it’s a disaster waiting to happen. This team has been searching for its franchise quarterback for years, and Sorsby isn’t the answer. They’re better off going with Brissett rather than giving up future capital.
Best fit: New York Jets
J.J. McCarthy
The writing is on the wall, whether J.J. McCarthy wants to accept it or not. He’s closer to being traded than he is being part of Minnesota’s future. The Vikings will probably pursue a trade for McCarthy before the season. If they were smart, they’d let him get the bulk of the preseason snaps to give teams looking for a quarterback more reason to take a stab at him. I think McCarthy can start in 2026 with the right team, but it’s probably better for him to sit behind a more proven option after how bad things were in 2025.
A team like the Pittsburgh Steelers would be interesting. They have Aaron Rodgers for one final year and they’ll need to find their future quarterback starting in 2027. Baltimore could be another team to watch, especially given that Lamar Jackson could potentially not be around when his contract expires, though I don’t think the Ravens would be interested in parting with valuable draft capital to land McCarthy.
The Vikings will have to figure out what to do with McCarthy, but if any team is interested in Sorsby, they’ll absolutely look at McCarthy first; he’s a much better option if you’re going to spend draft capital.
Best fit: Pittsburgh Steelers
Mac Jones
The San Francisco 49ers might not be able to keep Mac Jones beyond this year. If he plays like he did in 2025, the 49ers may be forced to trade Jones by the trade deadline to avoid letting him walk for free. Jones was, statistically, one of the better quarterbacks in the league last year as Brock Purdy’s backup. If he plays enough this year in the preseason, he could be a name to watch on the trade block.
I don’t know of too many teams that need Jones; that said, the Cleveland Browns need a stabilizer badly. They’ll most likely draft a QB of the future in the 2027 NFL Draft, but Jones provides an interesting situation for them. If I’m Cleveland, I feel way more confident with Jones than I do Sorsby. Jones has been in the NFL longer, and with Sorsby, it feels like drama will follow him wherever he goes. The Browns don’t need anymore of that, especially with the youth on this roster.
It’s hard to decide between a retread with Jones or taking a gamble with Sorsby. When it comes to the latter, he has off-the-field problems that could hold him back. As for his play on the field, he’s not ready to be anybody’s franchise quarterback yet. He’ll need time, while Jones just needs the right system. In Cleveland, he’ll be able to be the veteran leader on a young team that needs certainty under center. That said, it’s no guarantee he’s good outside of San Francisco’s ecosystem either.
Best fit: Cleveland Browns
Shedeur Sanders
The fact that Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson are in a quarterback battle pretty much sums up the quarterback situation in Cleveland. That said, the Browns could be drumming up hype around Sanders to see if there’s a trade market for him. For what it’s worth, he was voted to play in the Pro Bowl last year, but it wasn’t a vintage Pro Bowl season by any means. If any team is interested in trading for Sanders, they know they’re getting a long -term project, albeit one that could be an answer down the road.
The Cardinals are a team that stands out here to me for a couple of reasons. For one, they need options at quarterback, and with Sanders, they get a youngster who won’t win them enough games to not draft his replacement. Sanders had a rough rookie season, but is getting first-team reps in the offseason, which is a sign he’s improving. The Cardinals aren’t really in the market for a quarterback right now, but if Brissett holds out, it would make a lot of sense for Sanders to be in the mix.
Gardner Minshew is who he is and Carson Beck is in line to contend for the starting job. If anything happens to either, Sanders would be a reliable option, if nothing more, to ensure they still get solid reps from under center. Sorsby isn’t that much worse of an option, but again, Sanders feels more worth using a draft pick on than Sorsby.
Best fit: Arizona Cardinals
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