Mon, Sep 17, 2018 at 4:50pm

GORDON GOES TO NEW ENGLAND

The New England Patriots acquired wide receiver Josh Gordon and a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2019 from the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round draft pick in 2019.

What does it give the New England Patriots
The Patriots have issues with their receiving corps this season, which is why the situation necessitated bringing in the uber-talented Gordon (whose off-field trouble has overshadowed his incredible talent level so far in his NFL career). Still only 27 years old, Gordon will probably either dominate catching passes from one of the all-time greats in Tom Brady, or flame out because he cannot get his life away from the football field straightened out.

What does it give the Cleveland Browns
For the Browns, this move was needed because the franchise gave Gordon every opportunity to figure his stuff out (but he repeatedly failed to do so). Cleveland management and coaching staff felt it was time to move on, although the squad did not receive much in return for (arguably) their best player. Furthermore, the Browns may owe New England a seventh round-pick in '19 if Gordon dresses for less than 10 games this year.

Fantasy impact
Fantasy leaguers who took a chance on Gordon in drafts this year are smiling right about now, since he now moves to a team with an all-time great quarterback. The only possible drawback here is that the Patriots may want to utilize Gordon as more of a decoy than as a featured weapon on offense. Still, Gordon is well worth the risk if by some miracle he is still available in some fantasy leagues. The big losers after this trade are Cordarrelle Patterson, Phillip Dorsett and Corey Coleman (who was immediately released by the Pats after the acquisition of Gordon), while rookie Antonio Callaway stands to benefit most from Gordon's departure in Cleveland.