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Josh Gordon is bound for Seattle.
The Seahawks have been awarded the 28-year-old wide receiver off waivers from the New England Patriots, as Ian Rapoport of NFL Media first reported.
Released from New England’s injured reserve on Thursday, Gordon, a vested veteran, was subject to the waiver system with the NFL trade deadline in the rearview.
Seattle stood at No. 28 in the claiming priority entering Week 9, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
“He’s a unique talent,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said of Gordon in his press conference Friday afternoon. “Next week, we’ll take a look and see what he looks like. He’s done a lot of good stuff, made a lot of good plays and all that, so we’ll find out more next week.”
Gordon started six games for the Patriots this fall. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound wideout collected 20 passes for 287 yards and one touchdown over that span, yet was sent to IR with reported bone bruises in his left knee on Oct. 23.
Gordon’s final reception as a Patriot transpired 13 days prior to then versus the New York Giants.
“We released him because he was healthy, passed his physical,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told reporters earlier on Friday.
The Patriots had extended the original-round tender of $2.025 million to Gordon, previously a restricted free agent, in the spring. He’d arrived in Foxborough by way of the Cleveland Browns last September, when New England traded a fifth-round draft choice to Cleveland in exchange for the 2013 first-team All-Pro and a seventh-round pick.
The deal saw Gordon appear in a total of 17 games for the Patriots.
“He’s a big-play guy,” added Carroll. “He’s been able to really stretch the field, and those I know that have worked with him, coached him, they rave about his talent and his playmaking ability.”
Gordon amassed 40 catches for 720 yards and three touchdowns this past campaign, and was conditionally reinstated from his indefinite suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy in the midst of New England’s preseason.