Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Thursday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
Eventful day in Foxborough on Wednesday. Let's try and figure out what happened.
At the start, we were all still speculating about the status of Josh Gordon, and why Bill Belichick wasn't saying anything about his situation. Then, came word the Patriots had re-signed cornerback/punt returner Cyrus Jones and released running back/returner Kenjon Barner. That was followed later in the morning by a strange back-and-forth later between Belichick and the media about Gordon's status, one where Belichick was apparently still following some sort of "Fight Club" roadmap when it came to the wide receiver.
As you probably know by now, we saw Gordon at practice, wearing No. 10 and catching passes with the rest of the wide receivers. And after practice, we had a chance to get into the locker room, and while Gordon wasn't around, his new locker was right next to Tom Brady. Oh, and even though Belichick hasn't made a statement about Gordon, the Patriots still put him on Wednesday's injury report as limited with a hamstring issue. All of this was set against the backdrop of the release of the new Ian O'Connor book on Belichick, which Belichick declined comment on during his press conference.
Finally, word came down New England was re-acquiring wide receiver Corey Coleman -- who had apparently been released following the signing of Gordon -- as a practice squadder. (Although if the Patriots are still not openly acknowledging the acquisition of Gordon, did Coleman ever really leave? Probably not, but that's a story for another day.)
Anyway, with all that in the rearview, we can only speculate how many wide receiver-related transactions we'll see Thursday. Good luck and be safe, everyone.
--Happy 25th birthday, Jonathan Jones.
Thursday’s schedule
12:35 p.m.: Media availability at practice
4:45-5:30 p.m.: Approximate time for player availability (locker room) and Devin McCourty media availability (media workroom)
--Oh, and one more thing -- if YOU own a business and are interested in being a presenting sponsor for “First and 10,” please let me know. Drop me a line at price@bostonsportsjournal.com.
Now, on with the links...
1. Greg has his breakdown of Sunday's loss to the Jaguars.
2. I have a complete a look at the Lions as you are going to find. Seriously -- I watched a ton of film on Detroit over the first two games. You're going to learn something new about the Lions if you read it.
3. I have a look at the return of Cyrus Jones, and how he fits into the conversation going forward. Unless something crazy happens, he'll be returning punts and providing depth at corner.
4. My Patriots notebook tackles a bunch of different topics, including the odd exchange between Belichick and the media regarding Gordon Wednesday morning. There's also analysis of the injury report, as well as thoughts from Dont'a Hightower and Rob Gronkowski on Gordon.
5. I spent some quality time talking with my buddy Orlando "Big O" Alzugaray about the Patriots and Gordon on Mad Dog Radio Wednesday night.
6. Some good practice video of Gordon catching passes is here, and a pair of videos of the defensive line/pass rushers are here.
7. How long has it been since the Patriots have had Brady, Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and James White on the field at the same time? Yeah, something tells me come Week Five, the offense is going to be just fine.
8. Darius Slay wasn't at practice Wednesday for the Lions. What does that mean? Bad news for the Lions.
9. Belichick had a ton of good stuff to say about Detroit -- this report called it a "praise-a-palooza" of the Lions.
10. Neil Hornby of Pro Football Focus says Lawrence Guy is one of his picks for "Secret Superstar" for his Week 2 performance.
Extra Point:
Jordan Matthews said he’s a father now because of his year in Buffalo. “There wasn’t anything to do there but each other.” ?
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) September 19, 2018