Well all got to enjoy the schadenfreude of the Pats losing for like a day and then they go and get Josh Gordon for a measley 5th rounder and the hate came flooding back in. Nobody else could offer a 5th? Okay then.

Then I got to thinking about it a bit more and there is far from any guarantee Josh Gordon is gonna do anything. I think because of the “Pats way” mystique of turning around older troublemakers into productive teammate studs we kinda forgot that doesn’t actually happen all that often. Randy Moss was one high profile guy who worked out. But what about Chad Ochocinco? There is a large swath of guys the Pats picked up to try that didn’t quite work out.

Add to this that most of the hype around Josh Gordon is honestly kind of overrated at this point. We still remember his last fairly full season when he was real good, but it was like 5 years ago. Almost all the Josh Gordon love is for Josh Gordon’s potential. What he could be. But for most of his career that’s all he is. I’m all for legalizing the reefer but Gordon’s got problems far beyond just being your average dude who enjoys a puff now and then. From what I hear and suspect most players probably smoke to a small degree. Gordon has legit issues. They’ve been the bane of his existence for years. Belichick loves to pick up dudes to see if they can be used. If they can’t, or they prove to be any sort of hassle, they get let go. I remember Jamie Collins.

So before we despair that the Pats just picked up another guy who is suddenly now going to be a model citizen “because Patriots” let’s actually wait a bit and see if that is what happens. The Pats will reach the deep playoffs regardless, whether Gordon is a reason why is far from guaranteed.