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Josh Gordon made his return to the NFL this past Sunday. While the Cleveland Browns lost to the Los Angeles Chargers, Gordon looked impressive catching four passes for 85 receiving yards. In this video, I broke down how he was able to create separation versus Casey Hayward and how he was used in his first game back.
According to Spotrac, Gordon is a restricted free agent this offseason. With the Seattle Seahawks potentially losing Paul Richardson, would Gordon be a good fit opposite of Doug Baldwin?
In my opinion, yes. He’s a top tier receiver when he’s on the field. However, “when” is the operative word. Since the start of the 2014 season, Gordon has played in a grand total of six games including this past weekend. Drug abuse and other off-field issues have held him back from reaching his true potential.
Wanting a top tier receiver is obviously the case for every NFL team, but since he’s a restricted free agent, the Seahawks would likely have to sign him to an offer sheet. Knowing how talented he is, the Browns should give him a first-round tender. Seattle has already spent their second-round pick in the trade for Sheldon Richardson and have also spent their third-round pick in the trade for Duane Brown. If they make this deal, the would not draft until the fourth round.
We also have to consider the cap space ramifications. Seattle looks to have roughly $18 million in total cap space for the 2018 season. Last season, a first-round tender cost almost $4 million. This is prohibitive considering the Seahawks’ free agent list includes players like Jimmy Graham, Luke Joeckel, Sheldon Richardson, Paul Richardson, Bradley McDougald, and DeShawn Shead.
With all of these factors included and the total risk of this signing, in my opinion, Seattle can’t afford to sign him this summer. What do you think? Should Seattle sign him?