Former Seahawks WR Josh Gordon Applies For Reinstatement From Indefinite Suspension

If approved, could Gordon land back in the Pacific Northwest?

An interesting nugget of information that may be of interest to the Seahawks has quietly flown under the radar Friday afternoon. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Josh Gordon, who appeared in five games for Seattle in 2019 and re-signed with the team in 2020, has filed for reinstatement from indefinite suspension.

Josh Gordon officially has submitted his reinstatement letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and hopes to be with a team for training camp, per a league source. The NFL has been randomly drug testing Gordon for the past three months and is said to have passed all tests.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 2, 2021

Gordon's suspension was handed down on December 16, 2019 after the receiver violated the NFL substance abuse policy for the fourth time in his professional career. Expecting to have his suspension lifted, Gordon re-signed with the Seahawks in September of 2020. But weeks went by without progress on his reinstatement being made, nearly going the length of the regular season before he was ruled eligible to return on December 21. 

Just a day later, however, the NFL reversed its ruling after determining Gordon broke the terms of his conditional reinstatement and barred him once more. On March 4, the Seahawks released the Baylor product so he could participate in Fan Controlled Football, becoming teammates with current Seattle receiver Travis Toivonen on the league's Zappers roster. 

Schefter notes that Gordon has undergone a series of random drug tests conducted by the league over the past three months, passing all of them. If reinstated, he hopes to land with a team before the start of training camp at the end of July. 

It's possible that could be with the Seahawks, who stuck by Gordon throughout his suspension last year—even when he was unable to officially sign with the team. However, there are likely just one or two roster spots left in their receiving corps, with DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, D'Wayne Eskridge and Freddie Swain all appearing locked in. 

Behind that quartet, eight receivers are currently set to compete for the remaining opening(s). Recently, the Seahawks unexpectedly lost a prominent figure in that position battle, Tamorrion Terry, after the undrafted free agent out of Florida State was indicted for the murder of a woman in a June 2018 shooting at a Georgia nightclub.

Seattle acted fast in cutting ties with Terry after learning about his situation, and have yet to make a corresponding move to its 90-man roster. That won't be Gordon, though he may become available in a short while if his hopes are realized. 

In that case, fans should keep an eye on the Seahawks in his prospective market. He would have an uphill climb to prove his reliability and beat out the likes of Cade Johnson, Penny Hart and Connor Wedington, but Seattle is familiar with him and may be one of the very few teams expected to show a true interest in his services.