Todd Monken believes it'd be 'slippery slope' for Browns to acquire Brendan Sorsby considering QB's gambling issues
The Cleveland Browns selected wide receiver Josh Gordon in the 2012 NFL supplemental draft. Substance abuse mired Gordon’s football career, first in college when he was at Baylor and then in the NFL, most notably when he was with the Browns.
In 2013, Gordon led the league with a whopping 1,646 receiving yards and earned first-team All-Pro honors. The next season, he missed 11 games due to two suspensions. In 2015, he didn’t play at all because of his violations of the the NFL’s substance abuse policy. And in 2016, upon his conditional reinstatement, he entered a rehab facility just before his latest suspension came to an end, missing out on that season, too. Gordon was in and out of the league from 2012-22, but his 21 receiving touchdowns merely teased what he could have been had it not been for his drug use.
It’s been nearly eight years since Gordon played for Cleveland. The Browns might have a chance to dive into the supplemental draft to take another talented prospect battling his own form of addiction. If that opportunity presents itself, though, first-year head coach Todd Monken doesn’t sound like he’d be in favor of the organization taking it.
Monken was asked Monday at the Browns Foundation Golf Tournament about the Browns’ possible interest in Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who could file for entry into the supplemental draft if he isn’t granted a temporary injunction in Lubbock County district court. Earlier this spring, the NCAA ruled Sorsby ineligible and denied his request for reinstatement after he repeatedly placed bets on college and professional sports — including at least 40 wagers on Indiana football and/or individual members of the team between Sept. 2 and Oct. 22, 2022, amid his redshirt season with the Hoosiers — according to court documents obtained by ESPN.
“I don't think we're in a position to want to go down that road,” Monken said, when asked about the potential prospect of acquiring Sorsby, via Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot.
“That's my opinion. That's not Andrew's,” Monken then clarified, referencing Browns general manager Andrew Berry.
Monken continued: “I like the quarterbacks that we have. I think that's a slippery slope when you go down that — irrespective of talent. In terms of the situation [Sorsby’s] put himself in, we all know what that is. He put himself in that situation, and we've seen in other sports with players that have been banned for life from playing in professional sports.”
In the years since the return of widespread legalized sports betting, athletes — current and former — have found themselves entangled in gambling scandals, a pair of which were famously uncovered by an FBI probe this past fall.
The consequences of those wrongdoings have varied, however. For instance, after his rookie season in the NFL, New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte was arrested for alleged illegal sports betting, which dated back to when he played at LSU. But Boutte went through a gambling awareness program and agreed to a self-ban from gaming in-state and on online sites, and the charges were dropped. Since, Boutte has rebounded and carved out a sizable role in the Patriots’ receiving corps.
An NFC personnel executive told Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein that he thinks Sorsby can bounce back as well. A high-ranking AFC executive noted to Epstein that the bets Sorsby made could be less of a concern than where he’s at with his addiction.
Plus, while serious from NCAA and mental-health standpoints, his gambling wasn’t illegal.
Sorsby wagered approximately $90,000 over four years, according to ESPN, which reported that he gambled even after transferring from Cincinnati to Texas Tech. He recently spent 35 days in an Arizona gambling rehabilitation center.
Before his gambling upended his college career, he was thought to be a Heisman Trophy contender going into the 2026 season. After all, he’s coming off a prolific 2025 campaign, in which the dual-threat signal-caller tossed 27 touchdowns against five interceptions while rushing for 580 yards and nine scores for Cincinnati.
As for the Browns, it’s important to note that they did find success indirectly through the supplemental draft via Terrelle Pryor, who converted to wide receiver well after the then-Oakland Raiders picked up the Ohio State product in 2011. By the time Pryor reached Cleveland, he was open to a position change. The former quarterback actually posted a 1,000-yard receiving season with the Browns in 2016.
But every player entering the supplemental draft is different, and, regarding Sorsby, Monken reiterated Monday that he thinks “that’s a slippery slope to go down that road.”
“Again, that's a question for Andrew and for management,” he said, via Cabot. “From my end of it, kind of a tough angle to go down that road and think that that's going to be your franchise quarterback if he's ever eligible to even play in the NFL.”
