Patriots Rumors: Team doing its research on Josh Gordon

Recent New England Patriots rumors involve Josh Gordon, who the team is doing their research on.

New England Patriots rumors swirled last week in regards to the wide receiver position. New England overhauled the end of their wide receiver depth chart following their Week 1 victory over the Houston Texans.

Riley McCarron and Chad Hansen were both released after Week 1. In their place, Bennie Fowler and Corey Coleman were signed. Fowler didn’t even make it to the Week 2 game, as he was released to make room on the 53-man roster after Marcus Cannon was unable to play.

Coleman was the intriguing signing. He has had a tumultuous offseason, as he was traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Buffalo Bills. The Bills, a team barren of many talents, released Coleman prior to the season.

Coleman couldn’t have landed in a much better spot than with the Patriots. He was inactive in Week 2, but he could work his way onto the field after some practice time. Could he be joined by a former Browns teammate soon?

Josh Gordon has had an up and down career. He has battled off-field trouble, causing him to miss plenty of games in his six-year career. This past weekend, however, the Browns hit their tipping point.

Cleveland announced that they would be parting ways with Gordon this upcoming week. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Patriots are doing their research on Gordon and his situation.

Doing their research is the least that the Patriots can do. While they run a tight ship, they have shown they are willing to bring on players with checkered past if they believe it can help the team. Randy Moss is the poster child for that, especially at wide receiver.

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There is no denying the talent that Gordon has. When he is on the field, he is as dominant as any wide receiver in the NFL. In 2013, he led the NFL with 1,646 yards despite playing in only 14 games. However, his availability is always in question.

Since that season, Gordon has played only 11 games in four seasons. A majority of that time missed is because of league suspensions.

There is no doubt that the Patriots could use help at receiver. Julian Edelman still has two games remaining on his suspension. That leaves the Patriots with Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett and Cordarrelle Patterson on the active roster as receivers that play offensively.

Gordon would be a huge upgrade in talent, but New England may not get a chance at him. According to Pro Football Talk, the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys are where Gordon has his eyes on.

While that may be the case, there is no harm in checking in and doing due diligence. New England is smart to check in on the situation even if they are a long-shot to acquire him.