The Kansas City Chiefs have been keeping their plans for new WR Josh Gordon pretty close to the chest after signing him to the practice squad.
We know that they plan to elevate him to the 53-man roster once he gets caught up to speed on the playbook, but beyond that, we know very little about what his role will be. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Chiefs assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Dave Toub revealed one thing that Gordon won’t be doing in Kansas City. That’s returning kicks and playing on special teams.
“Probably not,” Toub told reporters of Gordon playing special teams. “I talked to him yesterday and I said, ‘You can return kicks?’ He just started laughing. I mean because we have all those guys out there who do it. I didn’t ask him if he could cover any kicks either, but I just think he’s beyond that, to be honest with you. If he comes in to help us, it’s going to be as a two or a three receiver. I think in that role, he won’t be playing special teams.”
Toub expects that when Gordon does make his debut with the Chiefs he’ll be a No. 2 or No. 3 receiver in the offense. That type of role wouldn’t leave a lot of room for special teams in Toub’s eyes.
He suggested that maybe in the future there will be opportunities for Gordon on special teams or he could be used in an emergency situation, but right now, the focus is on Gordon learning Andy Reid’s complex offense.
“The main thing that he needs to do right now, and I know Coach (Reid) has told you, is get up to speed with what we’re doing,” Toub said. “Our offense is complicated and there’s a lot to it. He’s not coming to special teams meetings. He’s doing that, he’s meeting with (WR Coach) Joe (Bleymaier).”
Andy Reid said on Wednesday that it’d be a stretch to get Gordon ready to play for Week 4, but it’s clear the team is working double time in order to get him prepared, potentially for a big role in the Chiefs’ offense.
