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Patriots pull off stunning trade for Browns’ Gordon

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Sep 17, 2018

Twitter photo Often troubled wide receiver Josh Gordon is now a New England Patriot in a deal made Monday with the Cleveland Browns.

Eric Decker didn’t work out, so how about Josh Gordon?

The New England Patriots Monday traded for the former Cleveland Browns often-troubled wide receiver.

Terms of the trade according to reports, are a 2019 fifth round pick goes to the Browns. The Patriots get back a 2019 seventh rounder if the drama-filled receiver fails to be active for 10 games this season. Word is his hamstring problem will not keep him out of Sunday night’s game at Detroit.

Gordon has been suspended multiple times by the NFL for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. After catching 87 passes for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns in 2013, he’s played in 11 games since.

He was suspended during the 2014 season, and didn’t play at all in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, Gordon was one week away from reinstatement when he opted instead to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility.

He was reinstated for the final five games of the 2017 season, catching 18 passes for 335 yards and a TD.

He rejoined the Browns during the 2018 preseason, caught a TD pass in the season opener vs. Pittsburgh, and seemed back on track. But, after showing up late to a walk-through Saturday with a reported hamstring injury said to be suffered during a photo shoot, the Browns had had enough and first announced they would release him but then began to field trade offers. The Patriots, hurting at the position with Julian Edelman out for the next two weeks serving his four game suspension, jumped at the chance.

The Patriots released Corey Coleman as a result of the deal, making it 28 transactions the team have made involving a wide receiver since the league year began in March. The most high profile move was in signing Decker as a free agent during camp, but he retired before it was obvious he would be cut at the end of camp.

A NESN tweet on Monday noted that ironically, five years ago during a press conference, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, “We like to say that dependability is more important than ability.”

Apparently somehow the Patriots feel that Baylor alum Gordon, who has plenty of ability, will be dependable as well.

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