Undeniably, the checkered history of wide receiver Josh Gordon continues. Already, the New England Patriots made news on Tuesday when they traded for Mohammed Sanu from the Atlanta Falcons.
Now, Albert Breer of NFL Network reports that Josh Gordon has been placed on injured reserve by the Patriots. What this means is that his career with New England is over. Notably, Gordon is on IR but will be medically cleared soon. At that point, he will be free to sign with another NFL team.
Source says Patriots WR Josh Gordon expects to be medically cleared soon, and that his knee injury is "minor". I was told he ran 22 MPH on the treadmill during a rehab session today.
Once he's cleared, he hopes to be released off of IR and sign with a new team.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 23, 2019
Thus far, Gordon hasn’t been stellar but he’s certainly been solid. Through six games, Gordon has 20 catches for 287 yards and one touchdown. Equally important – Gordon has been playing with a minor injury – and the news comes to him as a surprise. This is from the ESPN article:
The move caught some close to the situation by surprise, sources told ESPN, and possibly even Gordon himself. He responded to an Instagram post on the news with the word “interesting.”
Furthermore, some question existed as to why the Patriots gave up a second round pick for Sanu. Now, some of that reason is known with the anticipated release of Gordon.
Without question, some degree of credit should be given to Gordon for turning his life around. In short, his league history of infractions for drug use reads like a Tolstoy novel; too long to list within just this article. Since signing with the Patriots in the early part of 2018, he’s stayed out of trouble.
Finally, Gordon may not be the elite talent he was in 2013 when he exploded on the scene with the Cleveland Browns and 1,646 yards receiving in a mere 12 games. Perhaps too much time has elapsed, and he no longer has the extra gear. But one would think he’s talented enough to help a team in the league somewhere – and if he is released – he should find a new home quickly.
