Josh Gordon can appreciate Tom Brady better than most

Josh Gordon is playing with the greatest quarterback of all time, but it hasn’t always been that way.

Josh Gordon is currently living a wide receiver’s dream. He’s playing for a Super Bowl contender, and he’s catching passes from Tom Brady, arguably the greatest quarterback to ever play the game.

Many before him have done it, as Brady and the New England Patriots have been winning Super Bowls for a long time now. But not everybody can appreciate just how special it is to be in that situation as Gordon can. At this point in his career, he knows not to take anything for granted.

After all, for most of Gordon’s career, he hasn’t been quite so fortunate. Though he’s flying high right now, he has experienced what it’s like to hit rock bottom in the NFL.

That part of Gordon’s career began when he drew the short straw by getting drafted by the Cleveland Browns. Gordon spent six-plus seasons in Cleveland, and though he missed a very large chunk of those seasons due health and off-the-field issues, he never once had a good — or at least a consistent — quarterback slinging passes to him.

Gordon got stuck with quarterbacks like Brandon Weeden, Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel and Josh McCown, just to name a few. That’s pretty far from winning the quarterback lottery, and it was clear that Gordon’s career wasn’t going anywhere as long as he was trapped in northern Ohio.

But then, in the middle of the 2018 season, Gordon finally landed the biggest break of his career and was traded to New England. Now all of a sudden, he had Brady, and his career started taking off.

Gordon has started all nine games that he’s played in for the Patriots, and he has racked up 34 catches for 605 yards and three touchdowns as they cruise to the playoffs — which, obviously, will be Gordon’s first opportunity to play January football.

Gordon even got the honor of catching Brady’s 500th touchdown pass, which is a pretty huge milestone for a quarterback.

Having experienced both the highs and the lows of the NFL, Gordon realizes and appreciates what playing with Brady has done for his career.

“It’s good to be able to be in such close proximity to learn from him,” Gordon said, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “I look up to the guy. He’s done everything right, so I just enjoy the time being around him.”

Having previously been one of the most controversial players in the NFL, it’s great to see Gordon finally living up to his star potential. It’s pretty incredible how playing with a great quarterback can completely turn an athlete’s career around.