Gordon’s Pats debut on hold, inactive vs. Lions

4:03 pm | September 23, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:

7:53 PM ET

  • Mike Reiss

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    ESPN Staff Writer

    • Covered Patriots since 1997
    • Joined ESPN in 2009

  • Michael Rothstein

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    ESPN Staff Writer

    • Previously covered University of Michigan for ESPN.com and AnnArbor.com
    • Also covered Notre Dame for Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

DETROIT — New England Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was acquired in a trade from the Cleveland Browns on Monday, is inactive for the team’s road game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday night.

“Josh worked hard. He has a long way to go. We’ll take it day by day here,” coach Bill Belichick said in his pre-game interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Gordon made the trip with the team and warmed up lightly on the field before the game. He was limited all week in practice with a hamstring injury and had officially been listed as questionable, giving him 50-50 odds of playing.

Gordon took a selfie with some Patriots fans before departing the field after his warm-up.

The Patriots kept their plans for Gordon concealed, in part because they liked the idea of forcing the Lions — under first-year coach Matt Patricia, their former defensive coordinator — to prepare for the possibility of him playing.

With Gordon inactive, the Patriots have Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett and Cordarrelle Patterson atop their receiver depth chart. Special-teams captain Matthew Slater would be a fourth option in an emergency-type situation. That is especially thin, which is part of what led the Patriots to acquire Gordon.

Meanwhile, the Lions are without defensive end Ezekiel Ansah for the second straight game. He injured his shoulder in the first half against the Jets in Week 1 and has not returned. He practiced on a limited basis all three days this week.

Detroit will also be missing Kerry Hyder, who usually spelled Ansah during some reps, as what appears to be a healthy scratch since he wasn’t on the injury report. This leaves Detroit with just Romeo Okwara and rookie Da’Shawn Hand as the team’s available defensive ends, though linebackers Eli Harold and Devon Kennard can play at the end of the line of scrimmage in a three-point stance.

Receiver Marvin Jones (ankle), cornerback Darius Slay (concussion) and guard T.J. Lang (back) are all active for Detroit after being questionable throughout the week.

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