Green Bay Packers: Josh Gordon is right type of gamble to help offense
Josh Gordon is the gamble the Green Bay Packers need to take on offense.
There has rightfully been constant discussion about what the Green Bay Packers can still do to upgrade the wide receiver corps around Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams. Put simply, they failed to do so adequately in free agency and neglected the position entirely in the 2020 NFL Draft. So for this team to stay as one of the NFL‘s best, it feels as if reinforcements are needed.
On the whole, the free-agent market remaining doesn’t offer a ton of optimism, though there are some options worth looking at. However, the Packers’ best option might be to take a gamble. And lucky for them, the perfect option for doing just that might be ready to make his return.
Josh Gordon reportedly applied for reinstatement on June 18 after he was suspended for the sixth time in his career on Dec. 16 due to a violating the league’s former policy on performance-enhancing drugs and substances of abuse. In light of the report, it was revealed that Gordon relapsed following the death of his brother in November.
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While it remains to be seen if Gordon will be reinstated and if his suspension will continue once he is brought back — and for how long he could be out — the 29-year-old wide receiver could be a saving grace for Green Bay. If he is healthy and ready mentally to get back to football, Gordon is the exact type of player the Pack needs to add.
The Packers don’t have anyone like Josh Gordon.
It’s no difficult to ascertain why many fans and analysts alike have been asking for the Packers to add depth at wide receiver this offseason. While Adams led the team with 83 receptions for 997 yards and five touchdowns in only 12 games, no other wide receiver had more than 35 catches or 477 yards last season, both totals coming from Allen Lazard.
Green Bay has been hoping for players such as Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and (if healthy) Equanimeous St. Brown to rise to the occasion. But to this point, none of them have been able to do so. And though his career has been anything but normal, Gordon has been a real threat when on the field.
The wide receiver’s breakout year came in 2013 with the Browns as the then-22-year-old notched 87 receptions for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns, earning First-Team All-Pro honors. Things fell off the rails the following year as he played in just five games and then didn’t see the field again until 2017.
In the 2018 season, however, Gordon suited up for 11 games with the Patriots and showed off his talent again. He had 40 receptions for 720 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games. And while his stints with Seattle and New England last year were less than stellar, he’s still young and remains a naturally talented weapon who can attack deep down the field.
Rodgers simply lacks that type of threat in his current cast of weapons. Gordon has averaged 17.2 yards per reception for his career, which shows his ability to take the top off of a defense. While Adams is terrific, that’s not his game as he’s more of a technician winning in the intermediate parts of the field. Valdes-Scantling is the only receiver with bonafide deep speed but he’s yet to break out to this point.
Gordon could potentially come in and completely change that. A locked-in and committed Gordon is the type of player who not only gives Rodgers an option to air it out but who also will open up the rest of the field for Adams, Aaron Jones and even someone like Lazard or second-year tight end Jace Sternberger.
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Because of his history of suspensions and the fact that he could be suspended still if he is reinstated, there is an inherent risk in signing Gordon. But for the Packers, that risk is well worth it. They have put themselves in a position where they need to take a gamble to address their issues in the wide receiver room and there’s no more perfect gamble than Josh Gordon.