Many notable names have been among the players who have been released ahead of the league's 4 p.m. ET Tuesday deadline to get rosters from 80 to 53 players. Among those players was former All-Pro receiver Josh Gordon, who was released by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Gordon, 31, spent the 2021 season with the Chiefs, catching five passes for 32 yards and a touchdown. He was unable to distinguish himself from a deep receiving corps in Kansas City that includes JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, Justin Watson and rookie Skyy Moore.
"Appreciate all the Chiefs kingdom has done for me and my family this past year," Gordon wrote on Twitter. "Thanks for the opportunity and the many memories."
Gordon rose from relative obscurity to stardom in Cleveland, where he earned All-Pro honors in 2013 after leading the NFL with 1,646 receiving yards. Suspensions for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy, however, kept him sidelined for two full seasons during his prime years.
Gordon was traded from Cleveland to New England during the early stages of the 2018 season. He led the Patriots in receiving but missed New England's entire postseason run after announcing that he would be stepping away from football to focus on his mental health. The NFL later said that Gordon would be facing an indefinite ban for violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement under the league's drug policy. Despite his absence, the Patriots awarded Gordon with a Super Bowl ring following the team's victory over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII.
Gordon returned to the Patriots in 2019 but was waived from injured reserve after sustaining a knee injury early in the campaign. He was picked up by the Seahawks in November, and he caught seven passes for 139 yards in seven games with Seattle.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound wideout will now begin his search for his next opportunity. Despite his lack of recent success, Gordon will likely receive interest from teams that are in search of bolstering their receiving corps for the start of the regular season.
