Josh Gordon is now officially a former member of the Cleveland Browns. After six up-and-down seasons with the team, Cleveland has traded the 27-year-old Gordon to the New England Patriots for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Trade now agreed to: Patriots are sending Cleveland a 5th-round pick and if Gordon isn't active for 10 games, Patriots get back a late-round pick from Browns, sources tell ESPN.
As @rapsheet reported, Patriots were closing in on trade for Gordon.
Trade now official.— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 17, 2018
As ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes, New England will get a late-round pick back from Cleveland if Gordon is not active for 10 games this season.
It’s somewhat of a shocking move from Cleveland’s standpoint. If that’s all they could get for Gordon, why not release him altogether or move the troubled young receiver to an NFC team?
True to their nature, the Browns will certainly get a lot of push back for receiving such a light return for Gordon. Though, the team did announce this weekend that it was going to release him on Monday. Obviously, there wasn’t a strong market for Gordon’s services.
Since jumping on to the scene with a league-leading 1,646 receiving yards back in 2013, Gordon has missed 53 games to suspension. He comes with a major risk, one the Patriots were willing to take.
It will be interesting to see how the Tom Brady to Josh Gordon connection works out this season. The former second-round pick is slated to become a restricted free agent following the 2018 campaign.