© Scott Galvin | 2018 Sep 9
According to multiple reports, 49ers general manager John Lynch kicked the tires on Josh Gordon last weekend, after news that the Browns were looking to trade the former first-team All-Pro.
The 49ers ended up backing out of a potential deal, and Gordon was ultimately dealt to the New England Patriots for two late-round draft picks.
Lynch spoke for the first time about pursuing Gordon when he joined Tolbert & Lund on Thursday afternoon, and explained what factors the organization weighed when deciding whether to bring him in or not.
“In his case, and I won’t focus on it too much because he’s someplace else, but he’s a guy that our coaching staff had had history with,” Lynch said. They were with him in Cleveland, so they knew the player very well. Obviously an unbelievable talent. Obviously had a lot of issues. You try to weigh that. You kind of have to say what’s it worth number one, and number two, we’ve got a really good thing in our building in terms of the guys and the type of guys we’ve got in here, and do you want to mess with that?”
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan coached Gordon for a brief period of time during the 2014 season, when he served as the Browns’ offensive coordinator. Gordon played in just five games that year after he was suspended for a DUI. Gordon would play in only five games the following three seasons for repeated violations of the league’s substance abuse policy.
“I think in that situation, like any situation, if there’ s a chance to improve your team you always look into it. But in certain situations, particularly when you have knowledge of a player, you sit back and you weigh it, and sometimes it’s intriguing but then sometimes, particularly when you have knowledge the more you look into it, you know what, we’re going to stay away from that.
“I think the enticing thing about this situation is you had pretty good cost control for a couple years. He’s with the Patriots and he may well play very well for them. He’s a very talented player and we wish him well.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Lynch on Gordon, start from the beginning.