Josh Gordon Traded From Browns To Patriots For Fifth Round Pick

Posted by: SportSmasher , September 17, 2018

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

Full compensation trade update: Patriots send Browns a 2019 fifth-round pick for WR Josh Gordon and get back a 2019 seventh-round pick if he is not active for 10 games, source tells ESPN. Trade was supposed to be for a 6th-round pick, but Patriots don't have a 6th.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 17, 2018

Josh Gordon was on a short leash with the Cleveland Browns this season, after repeatedly being suspended throughout his career and admitting to having substance abuse problems, so the Browns announced over the weekend that they would be releasing Gordon on Monday. Instead, they reportedly fielded trade offers for Gordon from about half the league, and they ended up shipping Gordon to the Patriots today for a conditional 2019 fifth round pick that becomes a seventh round draft pick of Gordon plays less than ten games for the Patriots this season. The Browns finally cutting ties with Gordon comes in the wake of a bizarre weekend, in which Gordon hurt his hamstring while shooting an advertisement in which he ran routes against a drone, a video shoot which Gordon did not inform the Browns about. Then Gordon showed up late for practice, and according to team sources “seemed out of it”, at which point the Browns decided to release a player who was all out of second chances.

It’s important to note that before the trade was finalized, Gordon had an MRI on his injured hamstring which came back clean, he is expected to play for the Patriots in week three.

The Patriots are hoping that a gamble on an extremely productive but deeply troubled wide receiver will pay off, like it did when they acquired Randy Moss (who never had the substance abuse problems or suspensions that Gordon had), but Gordon better clean up his act. Showing up late to practice on a regular basis does not fly with Bill Belichick.