FOXBORO, Mass. — Josh Gordon’s fate is in his own hands.
The talented, yet troubled, wide receiver is getting a second chance on the New England Patriots after the Browns opted to ship him out of Cleveland. The sky is the limit for Gordon, who led the NFL in receiving yards in 2013 and now will be catching passes from Tom Brady.
But the 27-year-old will have to shake the off-field demons that have plagued him since that season, or his tenure in New England may not last long.
That begs the question: How will his new Patriots teammates, whom he practiced alongside for the first time Wednesday, help him get acclimated?
“(Between)Â these meetings and the playbook, I think he’s going to have his hands full,” Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower said Wednesday. “Anybody coming in, obviously just being a helping hand and an open ear can help. Whatever he needs, whatever questions he has, obviously we’re all here to help for that.”
There’s a theory that locker rooms with strong leadership can help a player like Gordon stay in line. The Patriots have one of the greatest leaders in sports in Brady, but center David Andrews — who is one of seven New England co-captains along with Brady and Hightower — insisted making Gordon feel welcome will be a collective effort.
“I think leadership is not just one to six people. It’s kind of collective as a whole,” Andrews said Wednesday. “I think we have a lot of leaders on this team, even though they may not be a captain or whatever. But I think everyone just tries to come in and do their job.”
Chris Hogan, the longest-tenured receiver on the Patriots’ roster with Julian Edelman suspended, falls into that category. Like Hightower, he has an open-door policy with his latest position group mate.
“If guys have questions, I’m always available,” Hogan said Wednesday. “I always try to help guys when they have those questions, big or small. It doesn’t really matter. I was one of those guys that had a lot of questions, so I try to help any way I can and be a leader.”
Gordon’s new teammates only can do so much, though. When asked how he can help the veteran receiver move past some of his off-field issues, Hightower gave a blunt reply.
“I’m not a counselor or nothing,” he said. “We’re teammates, we’re here to help. I’ll leave it at that.”
