Belichick slow about Gordon

It took a few days before Bill Belichick finally admitted Friday that troubled but talented wide receiver Josh Gordon is with the New England Patriots.

The trade bringing Gordon, who played in just 11 games with the Cleveland Browns since 2013 due to NFL suspensions, was announced Monday by both teams. Gordon and a seventh-round draft pick went to New England for a fifthrounder.

The New England coach then refused to talk about it Tuesday when it hit the NFL transactions wire. Belichick then said the trade still wasn’t done Wednesday, when Gordon was on the practice field. Belichick doesn’t talk to the media on Thursdays.

Friday, Belichick said matter of factly, “Since the last time we met, we officially added Josh and Cyrus [Jones, re-signed] to the roster, so it’s good to get them here. I’d say really in both cases, those two guys have done about as much as they can do in the few days that they’ve been here. We’ll see how it goes.”

Belichick refused to talk about Gordon’s off-field problems, but noted his new receiver was learning quickly. “I think Josh is a smart kid,” he said. “He’s worked hard. He picked up a lot.”

Browns

Coach Hue Jackson said he isn’t ready to “officially” identify his starting quarterback for next week’s game in Oakland, but all signs point to Baker Mayfield taking over in Cleveland after his dazzling NFL debut Thursday night. Jackson said that he’ll wait until talking to his players before publicly announcing a decision that seems inevitable after Mayfield replaced injured starter Tyrod Taylor Thursday night and confidently led Cleveland to its first win since 2016.

Eagles

Philadelphia won’t have running backs Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles Sunday for a game against Indianapolis and Corey Clement is questionable. Ajayi missed practice all week because of a back injury sustained in Week 2.

Falcons

Running back Devonta Freeman will miss his second game with a knee injury, and the Falcons also will be without starting defensive end Takk McKinley Sunday when they play host to New Orleans.