Patriots acquire WR Josh Gordon -- What does that mean for the offense?

The Browns announced Saturday that they are cutting ties with Josh Gordon and his new home will be in New England -- the Patriots acquired him Monday for a fifth-round pick.

Gordon emerged as a All-Pro receiver in 2013 in Cleveland after leading the NFL with 1,644 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. He's dealt with off-field issues for most of the past five years, however, playing in just 11 of a possible 66 games over the last five seasons. He sat out the 2015 and 2016 seasons entirely for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

In a corresponding move, the team released wide receiver Corey Coleman.

BJS analysis: What does the addition of Gordon mean for the Patriots?



When Coleman was first acquired by the Patriots earlier this month, I asked Phillip Dorsett about the difficulties of being a wide receiver coming into Foxborough without an offseason and being asked to start from scratch.

“It’s going to be tough,” Dorsett said of the challenge. “It’s going to take a lot of time, a lot of sacrifice. But I think he’s up for it. Obviously, the playbook is hard. You know it takes time. No one just comes here and just picks it up on the fly and is ready to go. It’s going to take a lotto time. The playbook is continually evolving. But as long as (Coleman) stays in it, and stays alert in the meetings … it’s going to take sacrifices. It’s tough. As long as he does that, I think he’s up for it.”

The same now holds true for Gordon, a receiver who has zero time and zero experience in the system who is now joining a new team during the regular season. A team with a playbook that has been known to befuddle veteran receivers.

Look, I'm all for fresh starts. But given Gordon's track record and knowing what we know about him and his background, does he sound like the sort of guy willing to make sacrifices? The sort of guy willing to stay alert in meetings? The sort of guy who will adjust to a playbook that is constantly evolving? I understand the idea that this deal is relatively no-risk, at least from a financial perspective. But at first glance, some of the puzzle pieces don't quite fit. Ultimately, it will be interesting to see if it can all come together for him in New England.

A couple of other notes: I know people want production now from the wide receiver position, but expectations need to be seriously managed here, at least in the short term. There's no disputing that when he's right, Gordon is a terrific receiver, and he could theoretically be a part of the passing game in a limited fashion this season if everything came together for him. His strengths are the deep ball -- when you look at his available route charts, there's not a lot of nuance there, at least from last season. This is from Week 17 of last year, when he had four catches for 115 yards.



But how realistic is it to expect him to be a major contributor in 2018 for New England? When Coleman was acquired, we said an ideal career arc would start with a sitdown with Dorsett, and the possibility of a limited role in 2018, with the potential for something bigger and better in 2019. (He's currently signed through this year, and will be a restricted free agent in 2019.) Given where he is at this stage of his career, the same likely holds true with Gordon.