Patriots Josh Gordon Reinstated

Per Ian Rapaport, Patriots restricted free agent wide receiver Josh Gordon is being reinstated into the NFL, on a “conditional” basis. He can report to the Patriots for camp and preseason activities. It is currently unknown if he will miss any games during the regular season following the reinstatement. He will not play in the third week of the preseason due to lack of team practice and conditioning. 

What Are Their Options?

This opens up a few different options for New England. For one, the Patriots simply needed a receiver with all those injuries. But what about receivers who could now potentially get released? That’s where things get iffy. The Patriots can place N’Keal Harry, their rookie first-round pick, on Injured Reserve. Why? He has dealt with multiple injuries over the summer, and the most recent issue with his hamstring has kept him out of practice. He also wasn’t getting many first-team reps with Brady at camp, despite his first-round pedigree. With a healthy receiving core, the rookie could be buried in the depth chart. That could make it easier to face placing him on IR. 

What about Maurice Harris? His injury has recently been stated as much more serious than initial thoughts. Not to mention it’s also a leg injury and those never go over well with receivers. This could open the door to him also joining IR, as he too would be buried on the depth chart. If not that, then this could open the door to his release, especially if Braxton Berrios continues to impress. 

Demaryius Thomas has been out with an injury all summer long, recovering from a torn achilles. He didn’t do well last season at all, having one of the worst seasons of his career. With a lower-body injury, and being a receiver, this could hinder him even more. With Gordon coming back, Thomas could very well be released. Or, Thomas could be placed on IR and return after six weeks, as a sort of safety option if Gordon can’t stay on the right path to that point. 

In Conclusion

Gordon coming back is not a bad thing by any means. However, it could very well spell the end of someones time in New England. Those players now at risk are the three I brought up earlier, along with Braxton Berrios and Dontrelle Inman. It is a very good option, but some Patriots fans could wind up very upset with who would end up getting released.

Discuss this and more at the Overtime Heroics Forums!