Patriots’ Receiver Josh Gordon Reinstated by NFL
Saturday, August 17, 2019
New England Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon has been reinstated by the NFL, the league announced on Friday.
As GoLocalProv reported, Gordon was suspended in December for violating the substance abuse policy.
Gordon applied for reinstatement last week.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"We are all rooting for Josh to succeed, both personally and professionally. Everyone shares in that hope and will continue to support him to every extent possible. But as Josh acknowledged, ultimately his success is up to him,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement.
Gordon will be able to rejoin the Patriots officially on Sunday and is eligible to play in the regular season.
According to the NFL’s statement, Gordon will not play in the Patriots preseason game on Thursday, August 22.
Gordon With Patriots
In 11 games with the Patriots last season, Gordon had become the team's leading receiver, hauling in 40 catches for 720 yards and three touchdowns.
He averaged 18 yards per catch.
"He’s got a big body, it’s hard to go through him, he’s got a great catch radius. So when the ball’s in the air, he just attacks it. I think most of the time they’re not really going for the ball. They’re just trying to get him on the ground and his catch-and-run is dynamic and he’s made a lot of great plays for us this year," said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady about Gordon in a press conference last season.
Gordon's Troubles
As GoLocalProv reported when the Patriots first made the trade for Gordon, his career has been plagued by issues.
Gordon has been suspended by the NFL for the majority of the past four seasons due to multiple drug violations.
He was suspended by commissioner Roger Goodell for the entire 2015 and 2016 seasons, and sat out the first 11 games of the 2017 season before coming back to Cleveland for the final five games.
In those games, he caught 18 passes for 335 yards and one touchdown.
He then missed the first three weeks of this past summer’s training camp to undergo counseling and treatment.
After playing 69 snaps in Cleveland’s week one game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he reported to the team’s facility on Saturday complaining of a hamstring injury.
The Browns said they were going to release him prompting New England to trade for him.
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