Report: Josh Gordon Placed On Patriots NFI List, What That Means

The NFL reinstated wide receiver Josh Gordon conditionally, and he is ready to join the New England Patriots. But, he won’t practice with the team at the moment. Gordon was placed on the NFI list upon his reinstatement as confirmed by ESPN’s Field Yates. Julian Edelman is added to this list, too.

Gordon can be removed from this list at any point this summer, but he can’t be part of Patriots practices until that moment. If the team doesn’t remove him by Aug. 31, Gordon will start the season on NFI-reserve, and won’t be active until after Week 6.

Wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Cameron Meredith are on the PUP list. Rookie offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste is on the NFI list. The PUP list has the names of those players who got injured during an NFL activity.

“We are all rooting for Josh to succeed, both personally and professionally,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said of Gordon in a statement. “Everyone shares in that hope and will continue to support him to every extent possible. But as Josh acknowledged, ultimately his success is up to him.”

Head coach Bill Belichick was loud and clear. And brief.

“For the past eight months, Josh’s situation has been entirely a league matter,” he said in a statement. “When Josh returns to our program, we will evaluate the entire situation and do what we feel is best for Josh and the team.”

Gordon is viewed as a troubled player, and Edelman has something to say about it.

“I think that’s how he was portrayed publicly — that he’s problematic. I think he’s dealing with a life issue,” Edelman said during an interview on New York’s HOT 97 on June 26. “When he was around team, he was a great teammate, worked his but off and practiced hard. Some people just have to deal with different things in life. They have to battle. I think that’s what my guy is going through.”

The Patriots are more than excited to welcome Gordon, and they will do that with a lot of smiles.

“We are excited,” Matthew Slater told media members following the second preseason game against the Titans. “I’ll say this: Football is No. 2. We want to see him first and foremost doing well as an individual, doing well as a man, and we want to support him however we can. We’re just going to take this one day at a time, which is all any of us can do. And we’ll see what tomorrow brings and then we’ll let the day after that worry about it when it comes around.”