The Browns trade controversial receiver Josh Gordon to the Patriots.
CLEVELAND — Josh Gordon's strange, stuttering career will start anew in New England.
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have a new offensive toy.
The Cleveland Browns severed ties for good with the problematic wide receiver by trading him to the Patriots for a fifthround draft pick Monday.
The deal came together two days after Cleveland reached a breaking point with the former Baylor player, who has been suspended numerous times by the NFL for drug violations since the Browns drafted him in 2012.
“He is gone now,” coach Hue Jackson said.
Gordon played in Cleveland’s season opener against Pittsburgh, but he reported to the team Saturday with an unexplained hamstring injury after practicing all week. The Browns decided to leave him behind when they traveled to New Orleans and later said they intended to release him.
However, Cleveland general manager John Dorsey found there was a crowded market for him and worked out the swap with New England, which also will get a seventhround pick.
Gordon's tantalizing talent had caused the Browns to hang onto him while he dealt with drug and alcohol dependence going back to his teens. He missed training camp to receive treatment, and the team was cautiously optimistic he would help them this season.
Browns, Vikings release kickers
Monday was a day of reckoning for two kickers, who were released after dismal performances Sunday.
Cleveland cut Zane Gonzalez after his four misses — two on field goals and two on extra points — cost the Browns their first win since 2016 with a 21-18 loss to New Orleans.
Gonzalez, who played at Deer Park High School, was replaced by free agent Greg Joseph, who was one of several kickers to work out for Cleveland after Sunday's calamity.
Minnesota wasted no time in waiving rookie Daniel Carlson after the fifth-round draft pick pulled all three of his fieldgoal tries wide right at Green Bay. Two of Carlson's misses came in overtime, forcing the Vikings to settle for a 29-29 tie with the rival Packers.
While Minnesota did not name a replacement for Carlson, coach Mike Zimmer confirmed that the team invited free agent Dan Bailey to Minnesota for a physical exam. Bailey was released by Dallas right before the regular season began in a costsaving move.
Odds and ends
Jacksonville will be without left tackle Cam Robinson for the rest of the season because of a knee injury. Robinson, a secondround draft pick, injured his left knee in the first quarter of Sunday's victory over New England. … Carson Wentz was cleared to return and is slated to start for Philadelphia against Indianapolis on Sunday. Wentz tore his left anterior cruciate ligament and lateral cruciate ligament Dec. 10, 2017 in a game against the Los Angeles Rams and had surgery three days later. However, Wentz will be without wide receiver Mike Wallace, who is out after breaking his right fibula in the first quarter of the Eagles' loss to Tampa Bay.