Gordon Reinstated by NFL

For the fifth time in his career, wide receiver Josh Gordon has been reinstated by the NFL from a suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.

It was back in 2013 when Gordon exploded for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns in just 14 games for the Cleveland Browns, with Jason Campbell, Brandon Weeden, and Brian Hoyer throwing him passes. But the next season, his problems with the league came to a head, and other than 12 games played in 2018, he’s been out of the NFL more than he’s been in it.

He finished last season with the Seahawks after beginning 2019 in New England, and he will be eligible to play for Seattle in its final two regular-season games.

Impact on Seahawks

With the emergence of DK Metcalf, Seattle isn’t in great need of a big and fast wide receiver. On the other side, Tyler Lockett is having the best year of his career. So just how much can a healthy Gordon help this team at the end of the season?

Seattle is the seventh-ranked team on the Dunkel Index (134.253) and the current leader of the NFC West. But the last two games of the 2020 regular season are shaping up to be incredibly important.

In Week 16, the Seahawks host the Rams (138.057 - ninth in the NFL), and in Week 17, they go on the road to play the 49ers (133.447 - 16th in the NFL). A lot can happen between now and then, but it’s likely that the NFC West won’t be won until the final week of the season.

It’s hard to know exactly what kind of player Seattle is adding in Gordon. But even last season, where his production was limited, he was still a deep threat that had to be accounted for. 

He only caught seven passes in five games with Seattle, but he averaged 19.9 yards per catch. For some perspective, if he’d played a full season at that rate, Gordon’s yards per catch would have ranked third among all wide receivers - ahead of Kenny Golladay, Stefon Diggs, and Mike Evans.

Gordon Reinstatement Timeline

This is, of course, not your normal season, so the process of getting Gordon back onto the field isn’t normal either. Beginning on Friday, Gordon begins testing for COVID-19. 

If he tests negative for five consecutive days, beginning on Dec. 9, he can attend team meetings and meetings with his coaches.

If all continues to go well on the COVID-19 front, on Dec. 21, after the Seahawks play Washington in Week 15, Gordon can begin participating in practice and will be eligible to play in games.

It’s been a full year since Gordon stepped on the field, so there are some questions as to how quickly he can go from practicing to playing. But it does help that he was in Seattle’s system in 2019 and does have some experience catching passes from Russell Wilson.

With Gordon returning, does Seattle become more of a team to bet on? Check out our NFL picks page to see what we think.