Getty Chiefs WR Josh Gordon before the team's Week 4 game against the Eagles.
After a week of having been on the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad, the defending AFC champions are ready to unleash veteran wide receiver, Josh Gordon.
Kansas City has signed Gordon to the 53-man roster, and Gordon will make his Chiefs debut in Week 5 on Sunday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills, according to Taylor Bisciotti of NFL Media.
Sources tell me Josh Gordon officially signed to the chiefs 53 man roster and is going to play Sunday night against the Bills
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What’s Led to This Point for Gordon?
Gordon was signed to Kansas City’s practice squad on Monday, September 27, with the intention of promoting him to the 53-man roster once he was caught up to speed, per The Kansas City Star’s Herbie Teope. Although he was not active for Kansas City’s Week 4 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Gordon was impressing the Chiefs enough to have him in line to potentially play against the Bills in Week 5, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
“New Chiefs receiver Josh Gordon made quite an impression in his first week at his new job. So much so that Gordon may be promoted to the active roster next week, sources say,” Rapoport wrote on Sunday, October 3.
“A low-risk signing, Gordon could pay off quickly,” Rapoport continued. “He was described looking like a No. 1 receiver, 230 pounds and fast. One source said you would never know he’s 30. He has really flashed in practice.”
Outside of his physical prowess at the age of 30, Gordon’s potential ascendence to the active roster also has to do with picking up Kansas City’s playbook very quickly. Luckily, he had some familiarity with it.
“He’s also picked up the offense quickly, thanks in part to some similarities from what he ran in Cleveland when he first entered the league with the Browns,” Rapoport wrote. “Brad Childress was the offensive coordinator on that 2012 team, meaning some of the verbiage is the same.”
Head coach Andy Reid was asked during his press conference on Monday, October 4, about Gordon potentially being promoted to the 53-man roster prior to the team’s Week 5 game. At that point, Reid was non-committal.
“Yeah I’m going to just see how he does this week and talk to him. I haven’t talked to him today, but we’ll just see kind of where he’s at and how he’s feeling,” Reid said. “There’s a chance, but there’s a chance he’s not also. I’m going to just play it by ear and see how he feels. It’s really more of a comfort thing with the offense. I don’t want to put him in a bad situation out there.”
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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Chiefs Make Decision on Josh Gordon’s Week 5 Availability: Report