It’s been seven years since Josh Gordon lit up the league. His talent still tantalizes.
Josh #Josh
Josh Gordon is returning to the NFL. Again.
At this point, news of yet another reinstatement for the repeat offender of the NFL’s substance-abuse policies will cause some fans to simply roll their eyes. Whatever, wake me when he actually gets through 16 games.
For some of us, though, Thursday’s reinstatement by the NFL allows for more chances to dream of what the wayward wide receiver could be. Again.
Such was the rare blend of size, speed and skills Gordon showed in a magical sophomore campaign seven — yes, seven ― years ago. Given that he’s still just 29, has shown tantalizing glimpses in recent years and is reunited with one of the league’s premier quarterbacks in the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, is it so crazy to think Gordon could regain his dominant form?
If that does happen, it almost certainly won’t be this year. Per the NFL’s reported guidelines, Gordon can’t play for the Seahawks until Week 16, giving him two games at the end of the regular season and then however many Seattle can reach in the playoffs. Before that, he must begin coronavirus testing on Friday and may join the club next week to participate in individual meetings and workouts. If all goes well, Gordon will be able to start practicing on Dec. 21.
At that point, assuming the other Seattle wide receivers stay healthy, Gordon still figures to be buried on a depth chart headlined by D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. For a point of reference, over five games last year with Seattle, Gordon had one start, 11 targets, seven receptions, 139 yards and zero touchdowns.
He did average a career-high 19.9 yards on those receptions, providing a reminder of what a dangerous downfield threat he presents to secondaries. Even with the Patriots earlier that season Gordon’s 14.4-yard average (on 20 catches) led all New England players with at least seven receptions. In 11 games with the Patriots in 2018, he averaged 18.0 yards on 40 receptions.
The Patriots ultimately gave up on Gordon in 2019, at which point he was claimed by Seattle. Going back further, Gordon played just five games for the Cleveland Browns in 2017, averaging 18.6 yards on 18 receptions, after eventually being reinstated by the NFL following substance-abuse policy violations that kept him out of the league for the entirety of the 2016 and 2015 seasons and for all but five games in 2014.
That brings us, finally, to 2013, when Gordon used his second NFL season to go on one of the league’s all-time tears. Over just 14 games — in unfortunately typical fashion, he was suspended for the first two weeks of that season — Gordon led the NFL with 1,646 receiving yards. That total is still 15th best in NFL history, and his average of 117.6 yards per game is sixth best (per Football Reference). Along the way, Gordon became the first NFL receiver with back-to-back 200-yard games and he didn’t just squeak over that bar, torching the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars for 237 and 261 yards, respectively.
It wasn’t just that Gordon piled up eye-popping totals, but how he did it. He took the top off defenses in classic deep-threat style, but also took short passes a long way by outrunning or outmuscling defenders. Gordon also showed great body control and hands on tough catches over the middle or down the boundaries. And Gordon’s 87 catches that year came from the less-than-stellar likes of Jason Campbell, Brandon Weeden and Brian Hoyer.
In short, Gordon, who was just 22 at the time, looked like the total package. But starting with that 2013 suspension, and not counting episodes in which he was disciplined by his teams at various points, Gordon would be banned six times by the NFL. After the Seahawks claimed him last year, he said he was “definitely thankful to land in a spot like this” and revealed that he and Wilson had been “talking about it for a little while behind the scenes,” but approximately six weeks later he again ran afoul of the league.
Folks could hardly be blamed for feeling pretty jaded about Gordon, assuming his latest return evokes any feelings at all. Even Wilson, who expressed excitement Thursday over getting Gordon back, told reporters, “I hope this time is better than the last time.”
For some of us, it’s all about that one time Gordon looked like he would join the football immortals, and the painfully few times since then he put himself in position to summon those powers. Gordon is running out of time to put it all back together before his physical abilities inevitably deteriorate. At least he’s spared himself a few years of wear and tear, and now has another opportunity to perform.