Seahawks re-sign Josh Gordon, giving Seattle a deep, dangerous receiver group

The Seattle Seahawks have re-signed wide receiver Josh Gordon.

Wide receiver Josh Gordon played five games for the Seattle Seahawks last season, garnering only 11 targets, though he did haul in seven of those for 139 yards, proving he still has some downfield ability left in the tank. But as he awaits reinstatement from the NFL, he’s heading back to the Pacific Northwest for another run with Seattle.

On Thursday, Gordon’s agent confirmed on Twitter that the 29-year-old wide receiver had re-signed with the Seahawks. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler added that Gordon has made progress in his reinstatement, which he first applied for in June, and that motivated Seattle to work to get this deal done.

While Gordon wasn’t a major factor last season, his work with the Seahawks has been praised in the building. Moreover, the team has clearly put a recent focus on deepening the wide receiver room around all-world quarterback Russell Wilson. Thus, the move to re-sign Gordon makes sense. But what should be expected of the wideout in the 2020 NFL season?

Josh Gordon gives the Seahawks a deep, dangerous group of pass-catchers.

Gordon isn’t going to be the top option or even the second option in this passing attack. Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf have those spots locked down and are a severely underrated duo at the position in the scope of the league at large. However, there were questions about what came after Lockett and Metcalf.

In recent weeks, the Seahawks have added Phillip Dorsett and a familiar face in Paul Richardson before re-signing Gordon as well. They clearly identified depth at wide receiver as an issue and have more than adequately addressed that with players who ideally fit what Seattle likes to do in the passing game.

For all the people who pine for head coach Pete Carroll to “Let Russ Cook”, the way Seattle has traditionally operated with Wilson is to rely on the running game to open up play-action and deep shots down the field. Gordon fits that mold when he’s healthy and fully integrated into an offense as do the rest of the Seahawks’ additions and the top two guys on the depth chart.

Assuming he’s reinstated — which you have to figure he’s on track for given the fact that he was signed — Gordon strengthens this Seahawks offense in a major way. No, he’s not going to replicate his eye-popping 2013 season (87-1,646-9) with Cleveland but he’s going to be a valuable option to open up downfield throws, make some plays of his own and provide stability should Lockett or Metcalf succumb to injury.