Josh Gordon Passed His Physical and Patriots Clearly Did All This to Keep Him From Contenders

The Josh Gordon era in Foxborough came to an end on Thursday as the New England Patriots officially cut ties with the former All-Pro wideout after they took him off injured reserve.

We're not entirely sure what led the Pats to treat Gordon, whom they backed on countless occasions, as an expendable asset, but it's now clear that they held onto him past Tuesday's trade deadline to prevent other NFL contenders from getting their hands on him.

Gordon reportedly passed his exit physical today, which means that teams are now eligible to claim him off waivers. The advantage to do so, however, lies with the league's lower-tier squads, who could receive a compensatory draft pick in return should he leave as a free agent come March.

If the opportunity presents itself, you better bet your bottom dollar that the Patriots will do whatever it takes to exploit every loophole in the handbook.

Call their blueprint dirty or straight up cruel -- both are applicable -- but New England's attention to detail is what sets them apart from the other 31 teams in the league. Just take a look at the NFL's current waiver claim priority, and you'll quickly come to terms with why they handled Gordon's exile the way they did.

If this doesn't serve as further confirmation that New England is playing chess while the rest of the NFL is plotting their checkers strategy, then nothing does.