Patriots should pass on Josh Gordon if he gets reinstated (again)

The New England Patriots have taken a chance on troubled wide receiver Josh Gordon twice now — and been burned twice. They don’t need a third time.

First off, I want to be perfectly clear that my position on Josh Gordon hasn’t changed at all in the past year-and-a-half since I wrote this article about him.

As much as we all love football — and as much as Gordon undoubtedly loves football — he needs to be getting the mental, physical, and emotional help and support he needs first and foremost before any of us (especially Gordon) even think about him suiting up and taking the field again in the NFL.

His well-being as a human being takes precedent over his ability to contribute to a franchise.

That being said and spelled out as a foreword and caveat of sorts, it is my firm belief that the New England Patriots should put any thoughts of a potential reunion with Gordon out of their mind — and keep them there this time.

On the surface, it’s easy to understand why rumors continue to swirl that link the mercurial talent with the Pats.

After all, he wore a New England uniform and caught balls from Tom Brady off and on for two seasons from 2018-2019. It’s obvious that he knows the offense well and that he presumably has a good working relationship with a number of key Patriots figures still with the franchise (Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels, Julian Edelman, etc.).

Still, for all the production he gave the Patriots during his first season with the team in 2018, he ultimately burned them by stepping away from football right before the start of the playoffs to focus on his mental health. The same day this news story broke, so did another one: that the league was planning on indefinitely suspending Gordon once again for substance abuse issues.

Josh Gordon has yet to prove he can stay clean and trouble-free

One more time, I’d like to state for the record that I have no problem with Gordon stepping away from football to focus on himself and his addiction issues. Mental health should absolutely come first.

But, given Gordon’s lengthy and well-publicized struggles with addiction and relapse, there’s no way anyone can present an argument that the Patriots didn’t give him a chance by signing him in September 2018 … and that he didn’t abuse that opportunity by failing another test and getting suspended.

All the same, New England stuck by his side. They placed a second-round tender on him the following March, and in August of 2019 — less than a month before the start of the regular season — Roger Goodell and the NFL conditionally reinstated Gordon once again.

He had his second chance to prove he could stay clean and contribute consistently to the Patriots — and he once again let them down. Gordon was placed on IR in October and waived on Halloween — a move that was puzzling at the time considering New England’s shortage of options at wide receiver.

Gordon was promptly scooped up by the Seattle Seahawks, with whom he played five games before he was suspended yet again in December for violating the terms of his reinstatement.

This was Gordon’s fifth suspension for this policy violation.

Did the Patriots know it was coming? It would make sense if they did, and would help explain the reasoning behind placing him on IR and allowing him to hit waivers and sign with the Seahawks.

Even if they didn’t though, the fact remains that New England gave Gordon two opportunities to make an impact and revitalize his career with the team … and twice, he let them down.

There’s no denying Gordon’s talent. He’s not even 30 yet and he only has 63 career games under his belt despite the fact he’s been in the league since 2012. In other words: there’s presumably a whole lot of tread left on his tires.

But despite all the very legitimate reasons that keep stopping Gordon from realizing his potential — namely, using drugs and alcohol to cope with his inner demons — this is, after all, a business.

The Patriots have certainly taken some chances on players with personal troubles/polarizing reputations/red flags in the past, and while some of them have worked out (Corey Dillon, Randy Moss, Rodney Harrison), others most certainly did not (Aaron Hernandez, Antonio Brown, Albert Haynesworth).

As much as New England seemingly needs all the help they can get at wide receiver in 2020, they can do better than giving Gordon a third attempt to make things work and keep his head above water. That ship has sailed.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times? I don’t think so.