Brady HendersonESPN
The Seattle Seahawks have re-signed suspended wide receiver Josh Gordon, his agent, David Canter, confirmed Thursday.
Gordon, 29, applied for reinstatement in mid-June after he was suspended indefinitely last December for violations of the league’s policies on performance-enhancing substances and substances of abuse. A source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Gordon’s reinstatement process is going well, so the Seahawks got started Wednesday on a deal to bring Gordon back.
Commissioner Roger Goodell has been overseeing Gordon’s reinstatement attempt. Gordon’s camp was hoping to have his indefinite suspension lifted before training camp. Sources described Gordon’s reinstatement as “imminent” to Fowler.
Gordon’s deal is for one year, a source told ESPN.
The suspension was Gordon’s sixth since the 2013 season and the fifth for some form of substance abuse, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Gordon’s attorney, Adam Kenner, confirmed to ESPN in June that Gordon’s latest suspension was the result of a setback he experienced after the death of his brother last fall. Gordon tweeted about losing his older brother on Nov. 11, the day he made his Seahawks debut.
Sources close to Gordon have told ESPN he had been hoping for another shot with the Seahawks. He’s fond of Russell Wilson, the organization and the Seattle area, where he’s continued to live and train during his indefinite suspension.
Gordon caught seven passes for 139 yards in five games last season with the Seahawks, who claimed the one-time Pro Bowler when he was released off injured reserve by the New England Patriots last November.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said in early August that the team was “very open” to a reunion with Gordon while also acknowledging interest in another suspended wide receiver, Antonio Brown. The Seahawks liked the way Gordon conducted himself in their building last season, and their coaching staff trusts him, two factors that made Gordon a more likely addition than Brown.
“Josh did a really good job with us last year,” Carroll said on Aug. 3. “He fit in really well. He was part of this team by the way we opened and embraced his coming to us, but also by the way he adapted. So we are very open to that thought, and we’ll see what happens. I don’t know. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen on that.”
The Seahawks recently re-signed Paul Richardson amid injuries to their receiver corps. Phillip Dorsett (foot), John Ursua (hamstring) and Cody Thompson were all sidelined but have since returned.
Gordon will join the competition with Dorsett, David Moore and Richardson to be the team’s third receiver behind Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf.
Gordon missed the entire 2015 and 2016 seasons as a member of the Cleveland Browns and also was suspended in December 2018 for violating terms of his reinstatement, missing the final three games of the season with the Patriots.
He was suspended for the first two games of the 2013 season but still caught 87 passes for nine touchdowns and a league-leading 1,646 yards and was named to the All-Pro team.
Gordon has played just 63 games since he was chosen by the Browns in the 2012 supplemental draft. Overall, he has caught 247 passes for 4,252 yards — an average of 17.2 yards per catch — and 20 touchdowns.
The Seahawks on Thursday also signed defensive end Damontre’ Moore, according to this agent, Joby Branion. The 27-year-old Moore has played for six teams over seven NFL seasons, including a four-game stint with Seattle in 2016. He has 10 career sacks.
