When Did the Patriots Decide to Move On From Josh Gordon?
By Liam McKeone
The Patriots traded a second-round pick for Mohamed Sanu on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, the high price became understandable, as the news broke that Josh Gordon would be placed on the Injured Reserve. This was an unexpected move; while Gordon had been banged up in recent weeks, there was no indication that he was dealing with anything that could endanger his entire season.
The situation then devolved into something much less straightforward than the above paragraph. First came a tweet from Mike Garafolo (and backed up by Albert Breer) that Gordon feels like he's close to returning to full health and will potentially sign with another team... wait, what?
Josh Gordon believes he’s close to returning to play, source says. So his IR designation today means he’s likely done with the #Patriots but could be available for teams as a free agent soon. Very interesting.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) October 23, 2019
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.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 23, 2019
Once he's cleared, he hopes to be released off of IR and sign with a new team.
As it turns out, this was news to Gordon too, who thought he could be healthy enough to play against the Browns on Sunday, according to Mike Girardi. Gordon expressed his confusion and surprise in a succinct Instagram comment.
Josh Gordon being placed on IR is news to.... Josh Gordon. pic.twitter.com/wRDZ8tLfXd
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) October 23, 2019
Then came an avalanche of tweets, led by Ian Rapoport, about Gordon's career with New England being over.
The #Patriots spent a 5th round pick and a little over $2.5M on WR Josh Gordon. For that, they received 17 starts, 60 catches for 1,007 yards and 4 TDs over two seasons. A solid investment, one they are now moving on from.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 23, 2019
My question: When exactly did THIS happen? There have been no rumblings of discontent or potential off-field issues. He was caught on camera smiling and hanging out with Sanu earlier this morning. He fills a crucial role in this offense as a deep threat that no other wide receiver can fill. But the Patriots, just like that, place him on IR and plan to dump him soon afterwards
This is all quite puzzling. If the Patriots didn't want Gordon anymore, it stands to reason that they'd try to find a trade partner for him. Failing that, they'd just cut him, instead of putting him on IR and later releasing him. The way this situation has unfolded, and Gordon's evident confusion, seems to indicate there's something else going on in the depths of Foxboro that caused the Patriots to decide to move on from their most talented wide receiver so quickly.