Pete Carroll, Seahawks Hoping Josh Gordon Makes Immediate Impact After Reinstatement

After being forced to watch from afar for the first 12 games of the season, Gordon will finally be able to reunite with his teammates in Seattle and the coaching staff hopes he'll be able to help right away with just four games remaining in the regular season.

Despite already featuring plenty of reliable offensive weapons, the Seahawks believe it’s never a bad thing to have too many quality wide receivers and they’ll finally be adding another impact pass catcher to the group very shortly.

After missing the first 12 games of the regular season along with the final four games of last season due to his suspension, Josh Gordon was finally reinstated by the league last week, which allowed him to enter Seattle’s COVID-19 intake program last week. Now that he’s received the green light to return, the 29-year old will be able to take part in virtual team meetings and can also workout at the club’s facility as well.

Though Gordon won’t be able to participate in his first practice until December 21, being around his teammates and the coaching staff is still a massive step forward for him, especially since he’s been away for an extended period of time. Coach Pete Carroll mentioned the team will be taking every necessary step over these next few weeks and admitted he’s happy to finally have the standout receiver back in the building.

“Josh is in the building today for the first time and it’ll take a while before he can get active in practice,” Carroll discussed. “But we’re going through the process.”

Released by the Patriots after suffering a knee injury in Week 6, Gordon joined the Seahawks midway through the 2019 campaign and instantly became a likable attraction in the Pacific Northwest. Even though he violated the league’s substance-abuse policy once again, management decided to remain tied to him for another season, as they agreed to a one-year, $1.042 million contract back in September.

With only four games remaining in the regular season, there’s no question the 6-foot-3 receiver faces a massive disadvantage attempting to make his debut this late in the year. That being said, Gordon will be working his tail off getting into football shape over the next few weeks and Carroll remains hopeful he will make an impact right away upon his return.

“We’ll be working him with our trainers and he’ll be getting in shape,” Carroll explained. “What I’ve talked to Josh about is it’s really important that he really busts it right now so that when he does get out there’s not a lag time of him adapting. He’s got to get it done now – there’s just not that much time left.

“He’s going to work really hard with our guys to make sure he’s running full speed, top speed, [for] as long as he can before he gets on the field with us so that he can maintain it once we get going. We expect to give him a chance to help us when he’s available.”

Over his five games with Seattle in 2019, Gordon started once, catching seven of his 11 targets for 139 yards, and averaging 19.9 yards per catch (career-high).

Digging deeper into his performance, the Baylor standout generated 21 yards after the catch, six different first downs, and he didn’t drop a single pass, resulting in a 107.2 receiver rating – the second-highest of his career, according to Sports-Info-Solutions.com.

Now entering his second stint, the Seahawks believe they’re much more familiar and comfortable with Gordon this time around, which will likely help him readjust fairly quickly. Along with being aware of his capabilities on the field, Carroll also explained how everyone involved is extremely appreciative of the veteran receiver's impressive work ethic and they're hoping he'll be able to make the best out of this second opportunity. 

“We’re much more familiar now, we’ve spent much more time with him and knowing him,” Carroll detailed. “We understand his physical abilities much more, how he learns, and all of that. But we understand the kid too and how much he wants to be apart of this thing – all of those things that go into building a relationship.”

“I know he’s very sincere about this, he’s worked very hard to get here and we respect the heck out of that. We’re going to help him in every way to make sure he can get what he wants out of this deal.”