Oh buddy! Here we go. Big nuts Bill decided to flex a bit on the NFL Monday afternoon by going out and getting Josh Gordon by way of trade with the Cleveland Browns.
Full compensation trade update: Patriots send Browns a 2019 fifth-round pick for WR Josh Gordon and get back a 2019 seventh-round pick if he is not active for 10 games, source tells ESPN. Trade was supposed to be for a 6th-round pick, but Patriots don't have a 6th.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 17, 2018
Image via Josh Gordon’s Instagram
That means Superman himself, Tom Brady, just gained an all-pro talent to play with going forward. Not a bad deal considering we only surrendered a 5th round pick and will get one back should Gordon not work out.
Let’s discredit any naysayers right off the bat here. Anyone wondering why in the world the Patriots would give up a draft pick for a problem child like Josh Gordon instead of giving up nothing to get Dez, here’s some number for you.
Dez Bryant is 29 years old and will be 30 in November. 30 is a scary number in the NFL because unless you’re Tom Brady it normally signifies the back end of one’s career. In this case Dez’s numbers back that theory up.
Stats via Pro Football Reference
The decline couldn’t be more evident. Dez had his three year peak then Doofus Dak (Kevin, feel free to use this) showed up, Jason Garrett’s schtick got old and things went to shit in Dallas. It sounds like a bad situation that a player could come back from in a different place. But that place was never going to be New England, at least this season.
Flash Gordon on the other hand hasn’t exactly spent the last three years hurling in tuddys himself. With that being said, Gordon’s three years younger than Dez and can only go up from his current situation. Get this man around the Hoodie and Tom Brady and things could quickly turn around and we could see what Gordon was pegged to be coming into the league.
On top of all of it, it’s an incredibly low risk play by the Pats. He’s dirt cheap and being an RFA next season he is under tentative team control past this season.
Numbers via Spotrac.com
Really the biggest concern of them all is pot being legal in Mass. It’s tempting, but if Gordon stays clean and shows up on time, a good year in New England could turn his whole career around. Low risk, high reward is how the Patriots role. Gordon’s simply the latest example.
As always, it’s all smiles at Gillette.