NFL will reinstate Josh Gordon, who could make his return as soon as Week 4, per report
The NFL has told suspended wide receiver Josh Gordon he will be reinstated into the league, as the former All-Pro could be back on the field by Week 4, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Gordon applied for reinstatement to the league in July and hoped to be on a roster by the time training camp started, but that never came to fruition.
Instead, Gordon will have an opportunity to play football this season — and the ability to sign with any team as a free agent. Gordon is still attempting a comeback, 10 months after the 30-year-old was deemed ineligible to participate in practices or play in games when he experienced a “setback” in his battle with substance abuse. Gordon was supposed to make his NFL comeback in Week 16 in time for the Seattle Seahawks‘ playoff run, but the setback left his future with the league uncertain. He was reinstated to the league in December 2020 before having the latest in a series of setbacks since he entered the league in 2012.
Gordon was suspended in December 2019 for violating the league’s substance abuse and performance-enhancing drug policies, which was Gordon’s fifth violation of the league’s drug policy. Gordon has missed more than 50 games for violations in his career, having just 1,801 yards since the start of the 2014 season. He played for the Zappers in the Fan Controlled Football league this past winter — a 7-on-7 league where fans called the plays and made the rosters.
Gordon had 27 catches for 426 yards and a touchdown in 11 games with the Seahawks and New England Patriots in 2019, averaging 15.8 yards per catch. He was claimed off waivers from Seattle after New England released him, catching seven passes for 139 yards (19.9 yards per catch) in five games. Gordon caught 40 passes for 720 yards and three touchdowns (18.0 yards per catch) the season prior with the Patriots and Cleveland Browns.
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