Josh Gordon is Reinstated for the Fourth Time.
Josh Gordon is Reinstated for the Fourth Time.
What Does This Mean for His Career?
Last Friday, Roger Goodell and the NFL conditionally reinstated New England Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon for the fourth time in his career. The 28-year-old had been facing an indefinite suspension since last December for violating the terms of a previous conditional reinstatement.
Since joining the league in 2012 Gordon has suffered from a multitude of off-the-field issues resulting in four suspensions handed out by the NFL and one suspension by his former team, the Cleveland Browns. Gordon has also left the league voluntarily on two separate occasions to focus on his mental health. Such a tumultuous career should keep Gordon far away from any NFL organization. He failed to merely suit up for any NFL games during the 2015 and 2016 seasons despite being healthy. However, Gordon has shown flashes of brilliance and domination in his career, most notably in 2013 when he led the league in receiving yards with 1,646 yards in just fourteen games.
Taking a look at Josh Gordon’s turbulent career
Josh Gordon was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2012 NFL Supplemental Draft. He would go on to play in all 16 games that season for the only time in his career, grabbing 50 receptions for 805 yards and five touchdowns along the way. It was an impressive season that saw him finish among the top rookie wide receivers.
Gordon’s off-the-field issues began prior to the 2013 season when the league suspended the sophomore wide receiver for the first two games of the season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. 2013 would go on to be a breakout year for young Josh Gordon anyway, as he led the league in receiving yards, was selected for the Pro Bowl and was named first-team All-Pro. He became the first wide receiver in league history with back-to-back 200 yard performances in weeks 12 and 13.
Gordon found himself in trouble again leading up to the 2014 season. On July 5th Gordon was arrested for driving while impaired in North Carolina. He was subsequently suspended by the league for one year for violating the substance abuse policy. An update to the NFL’s drug policy shortened the suspension to ten games allowing Gordon to rejoin his team in November. Gordon played in just five games before being suspended once again, this time by the Cleveland Browns for violating team rules.
Gordon missed the entire 2015 season for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. He entered the league’s substance-abuse program and was set to return at the start of the 2016 season. Despite failing a drug test in March, Gordon was finally reinstated by the league on July 25, 2016, but was to miss the first four games of the season due to suspension. One week before finally being eligible to suit up in a competitive NFL game Gordon announced he was leaving the Browns to enter rehab. The troubles appeared to be never-ending for the highly prospective wide receiver.
Gordon remained out of the league until week 13 of the 2017 season. In his first game back, Gordon went for 85 yards in a Browns loss to the Chargers. He finished the 2017 season with 335 yards and one touchdown. Josh Gordon had nearly four times more receiving yards in his first two seasons than he would have from 2014-2017.
Still, there was hope for the talented-but-troubled receiver. Following week one of last season, Gordon was traded to the New England Patriots. If Gordon was to have success anywhere in the league there was a decent chance it would come with the highly successful and professional Bill Belichick and Tom Brady-led Patriots organization.
Gordon seemed to fit in nicely with the Patriots. He displayed good chemistry with Brady, as the two linked up 40 times for 720 yards and three touchdowns. Gordon played in 12 games last season, more than the previous four seasons combined. He made history catching Tom Brady’s 500th touchdown pass. It was beginning to appear that the talented, Pro Bowl-caliber wide receiver had finally found some stability in his career.
Then, on December 20, 2018, Josh Gordon announced he was taking a break from football for the seventh time in as many seasons.
“I take my mental health very seriously,” Gordon said in a statement outlining his decision to work on his mental health before returning to football. The NFL suspended Gordon indefinitely for violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement. His future was left unclear once again.
Can Josh Gordon have a meaningful impact with the Patriots?
Roger Goodell ended the uncertainty on August 16th by conditionally reinstating Josh Gordon. Following the latest reinstatement, it is time to seriously begin asking what impact Gordon can have in the league. While Gordon may still be working on figuring out how to be a committed NFL wide receiver, the New England Patriots have little time to waste. Tom Brady is 42 years old and entering his 20th NFL season. Despite coming off another Super Bowl winning season and talk of wishing to play until he is 45, the question of when father time will catch up to the legendary quarterback remains ever-present. The Patriots are also looking to fill the void left by Rob Gronkowski’s retirement. They will be looking to develop multiple new offensive weapons to make up for the loss of Gronk’s productivity.
The fortunate news for New England is that Josh Gordon appears to have been putting in the work this off-season to return to his old form. Gordon has been training with former Olympic sprinter Tim Montgomery. Brandon Powell, wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, has been training alongside Gordon and Montgomery and has high praise for Gordon’s effort and abilities.
“He goes from zero to 100. To be so big and run like that, it’s pretty crazy. We run conditioning on the track -- 100s, 150s -- and he dusts everybody,” said Powell. “If you train with him, you wouldn’t even know that he’s suspended or anything.”
With as many setbacks Gordon has suffered in his career it is impressive to hear that he still works as hard as his peers.
There is a lot of potential for the New England receiving group
Few position groups in the NFL have undergone such a massive transformation as the Patriots wide receivers have in the past few weeks. With Gordon serving suspension, Julian Edelman recovering from a broken thumb, first-round pick N’Keal Harry missing practice with an injury, and veteran Demaryius Thomas seemingly reserved to the physically unable to perform list for the foreseeable future, the Patriots were left to rely on guys like Braxton Berrios and undrafted rookie Jakobi Meyers at the position.
In a flash, all of that changed. Edelman practiced on Monday for the first time after passing a physical and being removed from the non-football-injury list. Tom Brady has his number one option and Super Bowl MVP back.
Demaryius Thomas was reactivated and on the practice field on Tuesday. The veteran receiver is coming off an Achilles tear last season, so plenty of question marks remain surrounding what kind of role he can fill on the team. With his size and experience, however, Thomas can be an important figure on the team providing insurance for the troubled Gordon and maybe even grabbing 40 receptions if everything goes well.
N’Keal Harry was a stud at Arizona State, and he provides even more size to the receiving group at 6’3 and 225 pounds. The Patriots are likely to handle his injury very conservatively in hopes of him being ready for week one.
The biggest question mark at the wide receiver position is Josh Gordon. If he can continue the momentum he and Tom Brady had going before deciding to walk away in December then New England will have a solid group of guys to catch passes from Tom Brady. In a group of big, physical receivers, Gordon is the most explosive and has shown the most potential. We just have to see if he is finally ready to be a reliable franchise player.
Gordon is on the non-football injury list at the moment, but the speculation is that he is on the list merely to work on his conditioning and get into season form. His conditional reinstatement allows him to play week one, and the expectation is that he will be suiting up for the Patriots’ opening matchup against the Steelers.
-By: Jonny Hart