Report: Reason For Josh Gordon Trade Holdout Revealed

Josh Gordon was sent to New England, and his start has already taken some … interesting turns. Everybody has their own version of Gordon trade holdout.

The deal was first brought in on Monday, and the Cleveland Browns said they’d send Gordon to the New England Patriots. Actually, both teams confirmed the trade deal, but Patriots head coach Bill Belichick didn’t say much of the transaction during his appearance on WEEI’s Ordway, Merloni and Fauria. Belichick noted that the trade wasn’t still official despite the fact that both teams confirmed the info. So what was the reason for the Gordon trade holdout?

“Yeah, well, at this point I can’t comment on anything until whatever we do is official. I just can’t make any comment on that right now,” Belichick said.

Things weren’t any different the next morning. Belichick kept doing things in his style, and the conference call didn’t reveal much on the trade. “We’re at the same place with him that we were yesterday, so we’re in the process of working through it. We’ll just have to see how it goes,” the head coach added.

So, the trade was both official and unofficial. What really happened there?

On Wednesday, reporters thought that the deal was sealed, and tried to ask Belichick about the trade. But, it seems like New England is still in the waiting game. “I’m not going to talk about players that are not actually on our roster, totally. There are terms that have to be met before the trade is finalized. I’m not saying it’s not going to happen, I’m just saying it’s not completed,” the head coach added.

Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network says the holdup is related to a “tweak in language.” According to the official deal, New England are sending a 2019th fifth-round pick to the Browns. The Patriots are getting a 2019 seventh-round pick if Gordon doesn’t appear in 10 games. So, now the seventh-round pick is not a condition, and it will simply arrive to Foxboro along with Josh Gordon.