Josh Gordon reminds Kansas City bosses of Calvin Johnson’s Tyrann Mathieu

When news broke that the Kansas City Chiefs were signing former 2013 All-Pro wide receiver Josh Gordon to their practice squad, it was hard for fans not to dream big about what could come of it. At one point, Gordon was as dominant a receiver as he was in the NFL. But now he’s 30 – and in each of the last four seasons he’s played, a suspension has made him shorter.

As we tried to temper our expectations of Gordon, video clips of him from Wednesday’s practice were revealed. Even though they didn’t show anything more than half-speed individual exercises, his physique reinforced the plot.

Then Thursday, the safety of chefs Tyrann Mathieu did his best to fuel the boiler of the hyped Gordon train.

“He reminds me a bit of Calvin Johnson,” Mathieu told reporters of his reaction to seeing him in practice. “Just the way it’s built.”

When this the name is thrown out there, how is anyone supposed to temper their expectations for the new Chiefs receiver?

And Mathieu continued to shovel coal in the hearth.

“[He] looks like one of those types of guys where you see two people on top of him, you always throw the ball at him, ”he said. “We can’t wait to see what he can bring to the team. Obviously everyone in the locker room has a big responsibility to keep encouraging him, pushing him in the right direction – but from what I’ve seen he’s a hell of a football player.

When he spoke about Gordon on Thursday, tight end Travis Kelce lit up.

“It was flying everywhere, man – that was fun!” Kelce spoke about Gordon’s training on Wednesday. “When you see an athlete like that running, it’s pretty cool. “

Photo by Maddie Meyer / Getty Images

When Gordon is finally elevated to the active roster, he will have a role – but it’s unclear what that will be yet. Assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Dave Toub was able to assure reporters Gordon will not be playing against special teams.

“I spoke to him yesterday – [and I] asked: ‘Can you return the kicks?’ », Remembers Toub. “And he just started laughing… I didn’t ask him if he could cover kicks either – but I just think he’s beyond that.”

This should come as no surprise to anyone; even though back-up receivers are typically used as bodies in special teams, with Gordon’s age – and reputation – he wouldn’t fit into that category. That means he’s exclusively an offensive player – and Toub has said he considers Gordon one of the top receivers on the depth chart.

“If he comes to help us, it will be as a receiver two or three – and in that role, he would not play against special teams,” said Toub. “The main thing he needs to do right now is get to know what we’re doing; our attack is complicated and there are many. He’s not coming to the special team meetings right now; he meets [wide receivers coach] Joe Bleymaier.

Toub may just have high expectations for Gordon – but he’s also the assistant head coach; he’s likely to know what head coach Andy Reid is thinking.

So it looks like the coaching staff are ready for his latest acquisition to have a big impact on the offense. Now it’s just a matter of when Gordon will be called to the active list.