If Josh Gordon keeps his nose clean, the only way he won't play against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 8 is if the New England Patriots hold him out.
The NFL has declared Gordon eligible to play in Week 1 by changing his conditional reinstatement to an official reinstatement, according to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio.
Gordon was suspended indefinitely in December 2018 for violating the terms of a previous conditional reinstatement under the NFL drug policy. The NFL conditionally reinstated him on Aug. 16, and the wide receiver returned to practice on Aug. 25 after being taken off the non-football injury list.
Gordon saw his first preseason action Thursday night and caught two passes for 30 yards against the New York Giants, a good sign he's ready to contribute once the regular season begins.
Head coach Bill Belichick was characteristically mum Friday morning when asked about Gordon's status for Week 1, though.
"Yeah, we haven’t even started the game plan for the Steelers yet," Belichick said on a conference call. "So that’s way too early to try to formulate an answer on that question for him, or I’d say a lot of other people."
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