Patriots happy to welcome in Josh Gordon

FOXBORO – Josh Gordon brings a sense of mystery to Gillette Stadium. He’s a former All-Pro wide receiver who was once among the best at his position. Substance abuse issues took him out of the NFL for two years. After being traded to the Patriots on Monday, it’s unknown what type of player the team is getting.

On Wednesday, the mystery continued as Bill Belichick refused to discuss Gordon – at all.

"I’m not going to talk about players that [...]

FOXBORO – Josh Gordon brings a sense of mystery to Gillette Stadium. He’s a former All-Pro wide receiver who was once among the best at his position. Substance abuse issues took him out of the NFL for two years. After being traded to the Patriots on Monday, it’s unknown what type of player the team is getting.

On Wednesday, the mystery continued as Bill Belichick refused to discuss Gordon – at all.

“I’m not going to talk about players that aren’t actually on our roster totally,” Belichick said. “When that happens, it happens. If it happens.”

Belichick’s morning press conference happened around 11 a.m. Around noon, when the players took the field for practice on Wednesday, Gordon was among them, wearing No. 10. Later that day it was revealed that the Patriots gave Gordon a locker right next to Tom Brady.

Although players in the locker room weren’t willing to divulge much info about their newest teammate, they said they were happy he was there.

 “Just excited for his opportunity for him,” said Jason McCourty, who played with Gordon last season. “I don’t want to answer questions for him so I’ll allow him to talk about his fresh start…I’m just excited that he’s here. A really good football player. Excited to see what he can do.”

“He’s a really good player and it’s good to have him here,” Rob Gronkowski added. “I know that he’s a good player, but I can’t really get into details… but, what I’ve seen before, he’s a great player and just definitely glad to have him here.”

The Gordon trade is the third of the offseason between the Patriots and the Cleveland Browns. The Pats also traded for Danny Shelton and McCourty. Gordon played five games last year for Cleveland.

Gordon was limited in his first practice with the Patriots on Wednesday. Before taking the field, Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia said there is even more mystery to him when it comes to game planning for the dynamic wide out. The former Patriots defense coordinator saw Gordon when the Browns took on the Patriots in 2013 against a defense that also had Devin McCourty and Dont’a Hightower.

Gordon caught seven catches for 151 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown pass on Aqib Talib.

“I mean obviously a tremendous player. Again, I think unfortunately the last time I saw him, he caught a slant that he’s probably still running, just a really huge play for them when he was in Cleveland,” Patricia said. “So, dangerous guy, vertical threat, big receiver, great body control, great hands, really will be a big challenge for us. For us not to have anything on tape as far as what they’re going to do with him, in that aspect also is a little bit difficult.”

“It was a monster game,” Hightower added. “He’s still a monster now. He’s a tremendous athlete. Great receiver. Glad to have him.”

Gordon’s appearance in practice ended a bizarre morning where people were wondering why Belichick wouldn’t comment on his newest receiver.

The Patriots and Cleveland Browns agreed in principle on a trade for the trade on Monday evening. By Tuesday evening, the receiver passed his physical and the trade was official on the NFL’s transaction wire. Over the last 48 hours, the Patriots have been sending out tweets and Instagram posts about the All-Pro receiver. That’s what made Belichick’s song and dance on Wednesday so confusing

“We’ll talk about it when it’s done. If it’s done. When it’s done,” Belichick said when asked about fielding questions about the receiver. The coach then said the trade had to be finalized, even though the NFL seemed to finalize it on Tuesday and both teams issued press releases about the deal.

The holdup seems to be in the trade compensation.

According to the NFL Network, the Patriots will now receiver a seventh round pick back from the Browns. Originally, the seventh rounder was said to be to be conditional and only headed to Foxboro in the event that Gordon didn’t play in 10 days.

Belichick’s next press conference is set for Friday morning. Maybe he’ll finally talk about Gordon then.

“If and when it happens, I’m happy to talk about it,” Belichick said.