Charles Robinson,Yahoo Sports•September 17, 2018

The New England Patriots are desperate to fix the offense. And that’s how the marriage to Josh Gordon has come to pass.


A league source confirmed reports by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that New England agreed to acquire Gordon from the Cleveland Browns for a conditional fifth-round pick. The move happened two days after the Browns announced they were parting ways with Gordon.

Here’s why the Patriots need Gordon

A source who spoke to Yahoo Sports on Monday afternoon said New England is simply “desperate” to add speed and playmaking to the offense. The loss of running back Dion Lewis has turned out to be significant, while the Patriots have been in a constant churn at the wide receiver position trying to find an impact player beyond Julian Edelman.

Enter Gordon, who will basically be considered a low-cost rental the rest of this season, with the Patriots free to cut him loose at any moment they sense an issue.

Gordon’s reliability questioned

Now Gordon will ultimately be the guy they hope solves the need – if he can get on the practice field and actually into regular-season games, something that has been a constant challenge over the past four years. That’s part of what of what showcases some of the New England desperation in this move.

Gordon has simply not been a player who could be trusted by an NFL team since 2013. He has repeatedly run afoul of the league’s substance-abuse program while also dealing with mental health issues. In recent years, his fight with substance problems has been more a matter of attacking some of his social anxiety issues and hoping it would transform some of his substance-abuse failings. But that hope fell short when the Browns decided to trade him Monday, after a still-murky incident in which Gordon allegedly injured his hamstring.