Receiver Josh Gordon grew less dependable for the New England Patriots over the course of the 2019 season, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

During the first few weeks of the season, it became clear the Patriots weren’t content with the pass-catcher positions as a whole. New England took a major risk to sign Antonio Brown, which burned them. But at that point, Demaryius Thomas was the odd man out — he went to the Jets in a trade. On Wednesday, they traded from receiver Mohamed Sanu. At first, it seemed tight end Eric Tomlinson’s stint with the Patriots was over. But then they put Gordon on injured reserve, and retained Tomlinson, even though they had originally announced his release. It was a strange and confusing sequence of events. But the Patriots will release Gordon when he becomes healthy, according multiple reports.

Here’s what Reiss reported on the impending transaction:

“Sources said there were multiple factors that ultimately led to Gordon being placed on IR, with what was viewed as an overall decline in his dependability part of the tipping point for Belichick to make the decision. Players were particularly supportive of Gordon over the past week, with several saying they planned to reach out to him.”

Gordon’s dependability on the field was clearly waning. His catch rate, which was 59% with the Patriots in 2018, fell to 55% in 2019 and it was as low as 52%. The Patriots were struggling to maximize Gordon’s abilities, according to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. But perhaps those erratic performances on the field were a product of similarly unreliable behavior off the field.

The Patriots have a handful of receivers who are more reliable than Gordon in Julian Edelman, Phillip Dorsett and now Sanu. New England also has a group of young receivers in Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski and N’Keal Harry. Harry, in particular, seems like a strong candidate to take over Gordon’s role in the offense when Harry returns from IR. Bill Belichick was asked whether Harry’s development played a role in Gordon’s return.

“We’re not going to carry 10 receivers on the team,” Belichick said Friday during a press conference at Gillette Stadium. “So, something’s going to have to happen. I don’t know what. I can’t imagine we’d carry that many players in one position. So, I don’t know. At some point, numbers have to become a factor when they get high. This is the National Football League, this isn’t a college.”

There wasn’t enough room for all their receivers. And they clearly trusted other receivers more than Gordon.