Earlier today, news broke that New England Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon was taking a leave of absence from football and was facing an indefinite suspension for violating the terms of his previous reinstatement. Since then, the 27-year old has indeed been placed on the NFL’s reserve/suspended list with the hope being that his time away from the game will help him overcome the mental health issues that have followed him for years.
The news came as a surprise to many inside the organization, including Gordon’s teammates. “The way you guys felt when you read it was the way most of us probably felt,” said team captain Devin McCourty in the Patriots’ locker room today just a few hours after the story first broke.