Getty NFL wide receiver Josh Gordon
The Kansas City Chiefs are the fourth team to take a chance on veteran wide receiver Josh Gordon, who has been reinstated after being suspended by the NFL for the sixth time on January 15.
Being signed to the practice squad gives Kansas City some financial leeway and roster flexibility when it comes to investing in Gordon. But why exactly did the defending AFC champions decide to bring aboard the former All-Pro receiver? Head coach Andy Reid gave us that answer during his Wednesday press conference.
“Listen — Brett [Veach] always keeps his eyes open for good players. Josh [Gordon] is a good player, I think we all know that, and he’s worked hard on his situation and making sure he’s right,” Reid said. “He’s been reinstated by the league, which I thought was an important step. So we welcome him aboard. He’ll be working on the practice squad, and seeing where he’s at football-wise. Nothing immediate — we’ll just see what he can do and we’ll take it from there.”
As for when Gordon will make his way from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, Reid said it’s a work in progress, so don’t expect to see him play against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
“It’s going to take a while. He’s probably not going to play this week.”
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Mahomes: Gordon ‘a Great Football Player’
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked how he felt about Kansas City bringing in Gordon, and shared similar remarks to his head coach.
“We like bringing in good football players,” Mahomes said. “Guys that work hard, and come here and want to win football games. I thought that it was a heck of an opportunity to bring him in here and involve him in that receiver room. He’ll have his role, he’s a great football player, but I think you know in this offense, everybody gets a chance to make plays. The guys love getting out there and competing and doing whatever we can to win.”
Mahomes also assessed what Gordon brings to Kansas City’s offense.
“Like you said, he’s a big receiver — even when he’s covered he’s not covered,” he said. “You can kind of throw it up there, and he can make plays. But I’m excited to get to work with him. I’ve talked to him a bit here and now and he seems like a great dude that wants to come in and work. We’ll see as we get on the practice field how he can help us as an offense.”
Yates: Gordon ‘Ultimate Low-Risk Move’ for Chiefs
During my conversation with ESPN insider and fantasy football analyst Field Yates on behalf of Sling TV, I asked Yates how he felt about Kansas City signing Gordon to their practice squad. Here’s what he had to say:
“Back in the day you used to be able to negotiate practice squad contracts for players, so there was at least some variability in the amount that you pay those players. Now it’s fixed — every practice squad player gets paid the same amount of money. So the Chiefs and Josh Gordon, there was no wiggle room, and right now the ball is exclusively in Josh Gordon’s court. If he wants to make his way onto the 53-man roster he can’t loaf through practice, he can’t be unaccountable. He has to be accountable, he has to be a performer, he has to be like the player — at least working his way back towards the player he was earlier in his career.”
Yates capped off his statement regarding Gordon by saying that this is the “ultimate low-risk move” for Kansas City.
“For the Chiefs, this is the ultimate low-risk move. If he doesn’t work out there’s really no cap or financial ramifications for signing Josh Gordon. He’s not going to stick around if he can’t hold up his end of the bargain.”
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