KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs are signing former All-Pro wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was recently reinstated by the NFL after violations of its policies on substance abuse and performance-enhancing substances.

Gordon’s agents, Eric Dounn and Matt Leist, confirmed that Gordon was headed to Kansas City on Monday and planned to sign on to the practice squad. The expectation is he will join the active roster as soon as he’s up to speed.

“Time to get to work,” Gordon tweeted later Monday with a link to the Chiefs’ account.

The 30-year-old Gordon was one of the league’s dynamic players early in his career in Cleveland, where he led the league with 1,646 yards receiving during the 2013 season. But he quickly became entangled in off-the-field issues, leading to six suspensions over a span of six years, five of them for some form of substance abuse.

Gordon did not play at all in 2015 and `16 while serving suspensions, and he struggled to regain his form while splitting the 2018 season between the Browns and New England. He wound up splitting the 2019 season between the Patriots and the Seahawks before another suspension put his future in professional football in jeopardy again.

He was added to the Seattle roster last December, when the NFL deemed him eligible to return. But one day later the league decided Gordon had broken terms of his reinstatement and he was suspended indefinitely in January.

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Gordon was released by the Seahawks in March, becoming a free agent, and asked Commissioner Roger Goodell in July to be reinstated. His application was approved Monday, allowing Gordon to sign with Kansas City.

• Coach Andy Reid was released from the hospital Monday after he felt ill and was taken by ambulance to be treated for dehydration following their 30-24 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers the previous day.

Chiefs spokesman Ted Crews said Reid was “in great spirits” and that he planned to visit the practice facility later in the day or Tuesday. In the meantime, the Chiefs spent the day breaking down film and going through their normal Monday meetings with coordinators Steve Spagnuolo, Eric Bieniemy and Dave Toub in charge.

Reid coached the duration of the game Sunday, which was played in unseasonably warm temperatures that topped 90 degrees. He also addressed the team in the locker room afterward, then was examined by the Chiefs medical staff before the decision was made to send him to The University of Kansas Hospital for testing and observation.

The 63-year-old Reid is expected to coach Sunday when the Chiefs visit Philadelphia.

GIANTS: Leading tackler Blake Martinez is going to miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his left leg.

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He was injured on the opening series of the Giants’ 17-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday and had to be helped off the field. Coach Joe Judge confirmed the injury happened without contact as the inside linebacker chased running back Cordarrelle Patterson on a short pass.

Martinez is the second Giants captain lost to an injury this season. Offensive lineman Nick Gates broke his left leg on Sept. 16 against Washington.

Martinez joined the Giants as a free agent last season and led the team with with 151 tackles, third best in the league.

With Martinez out, second-year pro Tae Crowder took the play calls from the bench in the game. Reggie Ragland took Martinez’s spot and played a season-high 40 snaps.

Judge had no update on the status of receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton, who left the game in the first half with hamstring injuries.

C.J. Board and Collin Johnson got a lot of playing time with Shepard and Slayton out. Judge said John Ross, who was signed as a free agent in the offseason, might come off injured reserve this week. Linebacker Elerson Smith, a fourth-round draft pick, also might be activated.

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• Judge has no intention of taking away the play-calling duties from either offensive coordinator Jason Garrett or defensive coordinator Pat Graham. He said the team will continue to correct mistakes before making radical changes.

PANTHERS: The Carolina Panthers have decided not to place running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve while he recovers from a strained hamstring.

Had McCaffrey been placed on IR he would have missed at least three games under NFL rules.

“We feel like there is hope that he will be back before then – or at least after three games and going into the fourth game,” Coach Matt Rhule said. On Friday, Rhule indicated McCaffrey would miss “a few weeks” of action.

The 2019 All-Pro was injured in Carolina’s 24-9 win over the Houston Texans this past Thursday night when he pulled up while running a sweep play in the first quarter. He did not return.

TRADE: Cornerback CJ Henderson is the latest first-round draft pick to get shipped out of Jacksonville.

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The winless Jaguars traded the ninth overall selection in 2020 to the undefeated Carolina Panthers in exchange for journeyman tight end Dan Arnold. The deal also includes a swap of draft picks, with Jacksonville getting Carolina’s third-rounder in 2022 and the Panthers receiving a fifth-rounder from the Jaguars.

BRONCOS: Speedy second-year receiver KJ Hamler will miss the rest of the season with a torn left ACL.

Coach Vic Fangio said the Broncos’ second-round selection in the 2020 NFL draft tore his ACL and “some other stuff” in the first half of the Broncos’ 26-0 win over the New York Jets on Sunday.

Hamler hyperextended his left knee when he landed after attempting to catch a long pass from Teddy Bridgewater down the Broncos’ sideline. He stayed down for several minutes while teammates knelt beside him before he was helped off the field.

Hamler finished the season with five catches for 74 yards. He tied for the league’s longest catch in the preseason, an 80-yard touchdown grab on a pass from Drew Lock.


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