Shortly after he filed for reinstatement with the league office last week, we at Giants Wire pondered whether or not the New York Giants should kick the tires on wide receiver Josh Gordon.
Although the Giants are desperate to fix their locker room culture, Gordon represents the sort of big-bodied, play-making outside threat the team currently lacks. And with quarterback Daniel Jones going into his second season, Gordon’s presence would be a security blanket.
As it turns out, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports had similar thoughts and listed the Giants as a potential landing spot for the 29-year-old receiver.
New coach Joe Judge carries a no-nonsense attitude, but he was part of the Patriots team that welcomed Gordon to town in 2018. Fellow Giants staffers Jerry Schuplinski and Brett Bielema, a former Bill Belichick consultant, also witnessed Gordon’s brief revival in New England. More importantly, the Giants could stand to improve their depth behind Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton, especially with Daniel Jones entering a critical Year Two.
Would the G-Men want to invite Gordon and his history of availability issues to the New York market? Maybe not. But from a football perspective, the idea of adding another big body to that offense has merit.
Although Gordon has been suspended multiple times for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, his issues stem from marijuana use, which is no longer considered a serious violation under the new collective bargaining agreement (although Gordon would still face discipline for a failed test due to his previous suspensions).
Any decision to bring Gordon in would be a gamble, but perhaps it’s one the Giants should be willing to take. Gordon’s issues aren’t overwhelmingly serious in comparison to some others (even those currently on the team), and he’d likely come cheap.
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