What are the cap implications of Josh Gordon's departure?

We know the impact of Josh Gordon's decision to "step away" from an on-field perspective. What sort of financial ramifications will it have for the Patriots?



First off, New England will gain $92,942 in cap space, as they are no longer responsible for paying the remaining two weeks of his $790,001 salary. That means my new salary cap space for the Patriots is $3,971,192

Gordon's decision does not change the terms of the September trade. He and a 2019 seventh-round pick were traded to the Patriots from the Browns in return for New England's 2019 fifth-round pick.

Gordon was scheduled to become an RFA after this year. He will not be now -- I was projecting him to receive a first-round tender that would have been in the $4.38 million to $4.47 million range. For now, his rights remain with the Patriots.

The biggest cap-wise impact is the 2019 roster. New England currently has only three true wideouts signed for 2019: Julian Edelman, Darren Andrews and Braxton Berrios. I expect the Patriots to sign practice squad players Damoun Patterson and Riley McCarron to a futures deal once their season is over. I'd also expect them to make Cody Hollister an ERFA tender.

As for the rest of the depth chart at receiver, Chris Hogan, Cordarrelle Patterson and Phillip Dorsett are scheduled to become free agents in March. They join an intriguing group of receivers across the league who are also scheduled to hit free agency this offseason:

Randall Cobb
Donte Moncrief
Tavon Austin
Golden Tate
John Brown
Ryan Grant
Jermaine Kearse
Kevin White
Cole Beasley
Quincy Enunwa
Adam Humphries
Tyrell Williams
Cody Latimer
Devin Funchess

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