CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Browns have traded wide receiver Josh Gordon to the New England Patriots.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted the news Monday afternoon. The Browns made the deal official with an announcement on their Twitter account shortly after news of the deal broke nationally.
The #Patriots have agreed to trade for #Browns WR Josh Gordon, I’m told. Done deal. IT’s for a conditional 5th round pick.
In exchange for Gordon, the Browns received a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. However, if Gordon is not active for at least 10 of the Patriots’ final 14 games, the Browns owe the Patriots a seventh-round selection in 2019.
The Browns gave up a second-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft when they selected Gordon with a second-round choice in the 2012 NFL Supplemental Draft.
After sticking by the talented, yet troubled wide receiver through multiple suspensions and off-the-field issues, the Browns reached the breaking point over the weekend when reportedly, Gordon was late to the team facility and showed up with a hamstring injury that took part in a non-team sanctioned event Friday.
The Browns announced their intentions to release Gordon after landing in New Orleans for Sunday’s game against the Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Earlier in the day, the Browns announced Gordon was ruled out for the game because of a hamstring injury.
Gordon spent most of training camp away from the team while tending to personal matters.
Then, Gordon returned to the team days prior to the preseason finale only to suffer a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice until the Wednesday before the regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Although Gordon missed all of training camp and the preseason, he saw plenty of action against the Steelers. Gordon was on the field for 69 snaps (78 percent of the Browns’ plays), but had only three passes thrown his way.
Gordon hauled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tyrod Taylor that allowed the Browns to draw even with the Steelers and force overtime, where the game ended in a 21-21 tie, a first in the 68-year history of the rivalry.
A second-round pick of the Browns in the 2012 NFL Supplemental Draft, Gordon turned 180 catches into 3,106 yards and 16 touchdowns. A Pro Bowl player in 2013, Gordon set a franchise record with an NFL-best 1,646 yards on 87 receptions with nine of those catches going for touchdowns after missing the first two games of the season because of a suspension.
However, after that Pro Bowl season, Gordon was suspended for 44 consecutive games dating back to the final week of the 2014 season, which was a team ban for reportedly missing a walk-through prior to a trip to Baltimore to play the Ravens.
Gordon has been suspended for a total of 56 games in his seven NFL seasons, 55 of which were league bans for positive drug and alcohol tests.
Despite his past issues, Gordon was welcomed back by the Browns late last season.
The Browns got a glimpse of what a healthy and focused Gordon could do over the last five games of the 2017 season after his return from his latest NFL-mandated suspension, which lasted nearly three full seasons.
In those five games, Gordon turned 18 catches into 335 yards and one touchdown. Additionally, Gordon was on the receiving end of five passes that went for gains of at least 20 yards and converted 12 first downs.
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