Josh Gordon is set to be released by the New England Patriots following a short stint on injured reserve, and he’s certainly someone the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should be looking at as they hope to revive their 2019 season.

Saying the Bucs could use help with their third receiver option is nothing new. Tampa Bay currently has two of the top receivers in the NFL in Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, but the drop off after those two is steep.

The team’s third leading receiver is running back Dare Ogunbowale (17 receptions, 133-yards) and their third leading wide receiver is actually Scotty Miller who has three receptions for 39-yards seven games into the year.

Considering how productive this offense was one year ago, having their third most productive receiver averaging less than one half of a reception per game is not going to help get the 2-5 Buccaneers back on track.

Enter Gordon, who played in five full games before leaving in his sixth with the injury that helped land him on IR. Up to that point, Gordon brought in twenty passes for 287-yards and one touchdown, averaging 14.4 yards per catch.

Not elite number one receiver stats that he likely could have put up at one point in his career, but solid numbers nonetheless. So, if he was a solid receiver, why let him go? Well, for one, the Patriots are not afraid to trade for talent. They’ve done it in the past going after guys like Brandin Cooks, and did it again this year nabbing Mohamed Sanu from the Atlanta Falcons.

New England also has a rookie wide receiver in N’Keal Harry they are supposedly very high on who they feel will be able to contribute to the Patriots passing game as well as he gets set to (hopefully) make his debut this weekend.

So, why the games of putting him on a special IR designation just to release him less than two weeks later? It would seem, so Gordon couldn’t go to a contender.

Being released at this point in the year, Gordon is now subject to NFL waiver rules, and will have to pass through fourteen teams before a winning team gets a chance to add him to their roster.

Tampa Bay currently sits in the eight spot according to Field Yates.

The Dolphins are not likely looking to add talent leading to victories this season, so adding Gordon doesn’t make much sense for them. After benching Andy Dalton, the Bengals look to have their eyes on the future, and while Gordon would likely be an affordable option for them next year if he panned out during the rest of this one I feel like Cincinnati is looking to the draft more than anything.

Washington is always a wild card and Gordon teaming up with Terry McLaurin could be interesting actually. The Falcons just dealt away Sanu and look to be content finding out if Calvin Ridley can be their true number two.

For the New York franchises, a player with Gordon’s off field history would be entering a bee hive of attention in the “Big Apple”, but still, one of these teams might be desperate enough to pull the trigger on bringing him in.

Then there’s Denver. Who just traded away one of their key receivers themselves. So, can Tampa Bay get Gordon? Sure. But there are certainly some team ahead of them in the waiver order who could get in the way.

The real question isn’t whether or not he’ll make it to eighth, it’s whether or not Jason Licht should even bother putting in the claim.

At this point, I don’t see how his presence could hurt. He’s not the polarizing superstar he once was. He’s a young man (still only 28-years old) who will always have a past behind him, but as far as we know to this point is on the track to completing this season without those problems getting in the way.

Tampa Bay’s offense, specifically at the third receiver position, isn’t going to get worse with Gordon on the squad and it might just get better. And having to pay the reduced portion left on his current contract wouldn’t require any drastic moves by the Bucs.

Again, if he pans out, then he could be on the line to sign a team friendly deal in the offseason. If not then, again, it’s not like he’s taking someone’s spot who is doing better.

You know what I think, but what do you think?