FOXBOROUGH, Mass. � Josh Gordon is one step closer to playing in the Patriots regular-season opener.
The veteran wide receiver was in full pads, a jersey and a helmet at the start of Sunday's practice. This likely signals that Gordon has passed his physical and is coming off the non-football injury list. When the transaction becomes official, the 28-year-old will be on the Patriots active roster and be eligible to play in Thursday's preseason finale.
Gordon was reinstated by the NFL on Aug 16. It's a conditional reinstatement, which means he needs to abide by the rules set forth from the league. Gordon was suspended due to a violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy.
Overall, this is great news for the Patriots. In a matter of six days, the Patriots have added receivers Julian Edelman, Demaryius Thomas and Gordon to their active roster. Last week, both Edelman and Gordon came off the physically unable to perform list. Along with N'Keal Harry, who is still nursing a lower body injury, Phillip Dorsett and Jakobi Meyers, the Patriots have solid depth at receiver. That's not something we would've said a couple weeks ago.
The Patriots were missing a slew of players on Sunday. David Andrews, Ben Watson, Trent Harris, Cameron Meredith, Damien Harris, Shilique Calhoun, Derek Rivers, Maurice Harris, Lance Kendricks, Keionta Davis, Yodny Cajuste and Brandon King.
Patrick Chung returned to practice on Sunday. He missed the previous session and wasn't at last week's preseason game against Carolina.
