5 teams who should be in on getting Josh Gordon

Josh Gordon has officially been waived by the Patriots, so these five teams should be making a move to claim the troubled but talented wide receiver.

Josh Gordon had been sidelined by a knee injury, then the New England Patriots somewhat bizarrely placed him on IR last week with reports he would eventually be waived and medically cleared. On Thursday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Gordon was indeed waived by New England.

Facing a crunch for the two players they could designate to return from IR, Gordon seemed to get the shortest straw after New England’s trade acquisition of Mohamed Sanu. But whenever Bill Belichick cuts ties with a player, the other 31 teams have to wonder why.

Gordon’s history makes it easy to assume the worst, and invite factors beyond his injury playing into the Patriots’ decision to cut ties. But assuming he will be medically cleared from that knee injury soon, and there’s nothing looming in terms of off the field concerns, teams will be willing to make a bet on Gordon’s talent.

The pool of teams with any interest in placing a waiver claim on Gordon, or signing him if he clears waivers, would seem to be necessarily limited to playoff contenders that are looking for a piece to the puzzle. Waiver order is in reverse order of record (worst to first), so the Patriots are taking a calculated risk Gordon won’t reach a team they are competing with in the AFC playoff picture.

Now that Gordon is available, these five teams should be in the mix to claim him or sign him.

5. Oakland Raiders

The Raiders are 3-4, so they can make a waiver claim on Gordon with a decent chance to get him. The residue of the trade for Antonio Brown that blew up in their faces surely still lingers to some degree, but all outside indications are Gordon is not that kind of diva, locker room cancer or whatever other less than complementary label Brown deserves.

Tyrell Williams has been productive when he has played this year, with five touchdowns in as many games, and he’s now back from a foot injury. Tight end Darren Waller is the team’s leading receiver (46 catches for 496 yards), but Oakland’s wide receiver group lacks good, proven options (Hunter Renfrow, Keelan Doss, JJ Nelson, Ryan Grant).

The prospect of keeping him into next year, when they move to Las Vegas and all that comes with off the field, feels risky. But Gordon would be a solid rest of the season risk for the Raiders, as they perhaps see themselves as a playoff contender.