On Friday, Nov. 1, the Seattle Seahawks claimed former Patriots’ wide receiver Josh Gordon off of waivers. Out of the 27 teams who passed on Gordon, the Seahawks made no hesitation to pick him up. In addition to Seattle’s dangerous receiver lineup, the Seahawks have just added another weapon.
In a post-practice conference on Friday, head coach Pete Caroll stated, “I’ve said it a million times to you guys: We’re always looking for guys that have something special about him… we’ll take a look next week and see what that means.” Furthermore, Carroll made it clear that Gordon would not participate in the Seahawks game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but possibly the game after in San Francisco.
To add Gordon to the roster, the Seahawks released linebacker Dekoda Watson despite being signed earlier in the week.
Soon to be a part of the receiver lineup, hopefully Gordon’s past doesn’t come back to haunt him. Last December, Gordon was suspended indefinitely for violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement under the NFL’s drug policy. This is not the only time Gordon was suspended for drug use. Gordon was suspended for the first two games of the 2013 season, however, was able to lead the league with 1,646 yards and was added to the All-Pro team. In 2015, as a result of violating the NFL Policies and Program for Substances of Abuse again, he was suspended for the entire season without pay, and during the 2016 season, Gordon left the NFL to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility.
When Carroll was asked about his thoughts on the Seahawks acquiring Gordon despite being the 28th team in waiver priority, he replied that he was more than surprised that such talent was disregarded by previous teams. “He’s a big-play guy,” Carroll said. “He’s been able to really stretch the field, and those I know that have worked with him and coached him, they rave about his talent and playmaking ability.”
As a result of an attempted tackle after a Patriots fumble, Gordon left a successful Patriots game against the New York Jets with a left knee injury back on Oct. 10, causing the Patriots to put Gordon on the injured reserve. This meant that the receiver would be out until further recovery. That is until New England decided to release Gordon on Thursday, Nov. 1. As is with all players who are released after the NFL trade deadline, Gordon was available for waivers.
Even though 27 teams could have been the talented receiver’s new home, according to ESPN, “Gordon considered the Seahawks, who were 28th in waiver priority, a desired landing spot.”
Looking forward to seeing Gordon tear up Centurylink Field, the Seahawks couldn’t be more excited. In a tweet from Russel Wilson on the day of the claim, he typed, “Welcome Flash. Time to put in this work!” Gordon’s response to Wilson’s message was “Looove This!” alongside a “gohawks” hashtag.
After Friday’s practice, Seahawks players were just picking up that their new teammate was Gordon. Having previous experience with Gordon on the Cleveland Browns, linebacker Mychal Kendricks and nickelback Jamar Taylor expressed their excitement to the press.
Taylor said, “He was a good friend of mine … good teammate… I never had a problem with him. Competed like crazy at practice with him. He’s big, fast, strong, can high-point the ball. He’s everything you want in a wide receiver. I think he’ll be good for our wide receiver room. He’ll learn some things from [Tyler Lockett], he’ll learn some things from [Jaron Brown] and all those guys, and again, it’s somebody that can help out [D.K. Metcalf]. You’ve got a big guy like that, they’re both similar. He can teach him how he catches the ball and releases and all stuff like that. So I think he’ll bring up everybody’s game.”
“He’s hella cool. I think he’ll do just fine here… Even when he was with the Patriots, I was happy for him because I know how much of a tremendous athlete he is and what he can do for a team. So the fact that we got him, it’s lit. It’s real lit,” Kendricks said.
Confirming the possibility of Gordon joining the Hawks in their battle against the undefeated 49ers, Carroll stated on Monday, “Yeah, he’s been cleared to go, he’s ready to go.” Gordon has passed all his examinations and, according to reports, will be able to play on Monday.