Josh Gordon‘s time in Kansas City has, at least for the time being, come to an end. The veteran receiver is being released, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. In addition, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that defensive lineman Danny Shelton is among the team’s final roster cuts.
Gordon, 31, signed with the Chiefs last September as part of his latest return to the NFL. His time with the team marked his first game action since 2019, which he split between New England and Seattle. Overall, Gordon made 12 appearances in 2021, making five catches for 32 yards and one touchdown.
Despite the significant turnover at the position this offseason, it was reported in June that Gordon was likely to find himself on the outside looking in with respect to the 2022 roster. Kansas City traded away Tyreek Hill, but signed JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Adding Skyy Moore via the draft gave the team a new nucleus of pass catchers to work with Mecole Hardman, one which Gordon did not fit into.
As Pelissero notes, Kansas City “is open to him returning,” but a reunion would now only be possible on the practice squad. Depending on the outside interest the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder receives, the desire to go that route may be mutual.
Shelton, meanwhile, signed earlier this month. The move came one day after it appeared he was heading to the Raiders, but represented a notable addition in the middle of the team’s defensive line as a rotational option behind Chris Jones and Derrick Nnadi.
The former first-rounder was a full-time starter with the Browns but failed to live up to his draft stock during his three seasons there. He has since bounced around to the Patriots, Lions and Giants. With the latter last season, Shelton logged a career-low snap share of just 29 percent, limiting the value of his Chiefs deal to the veteran minimum. With the same being true for Gordon, Kansas City will not incur any dead cap charges from these moves, saving just under $2M in the process.
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