Ian Rapoport Doesn't Know Why Josh Gordon Discipline Report Turned Out Wrong
BOSTON (CBS) -- In the middle of Monday afternoon, news broke that Patriots receiver Josh Gordon would be disciplined at the start of the team's Monday night game in Buffalo. The news spread quickly, allowing the late-afternoon and early-evening talk shows a chance to voice opinions on Gordon and his unreliability before the game kicked off at 8:15 p.m.
But when that game finally did begin, Gordon trotted out onto the field for the first offensive snap of the game. Considering it had been reported that Gordon would be benched for the first quarter, this was a bit surprising.
Gordon went on to play 84 percent of the snaps for the Patriots that night, and he caught four passes on six targets. Considering multiple reporters -- including Mike Giardi, Jeff Howe, and Kevin Duffy -- also reported that Gordon had been tardy during the previous week, most people wondered how Rapoport's report could be so wrong.
As it turns out, Rapoport is wondering the same thing.
"So everyone wants to know, like, what happened. I will say the honest truth is, I do not know," Rapoport said on his podcast this week.
(Coincidentally, Bill Belichick was the first guest on Rapoport's podcast.)
Rapoport explained that he received a tip about discipline on Gordon, and he was able to get three sources to confirm the impending discipline.
Rapoport speculated that it's possible that the disciplinary process changed after the report went public, but that he still does not know for sure.
"I checked all the boxes and I went with my report," Rapoport said. "And then, first play of the game, there goes Josh Gordon on the field. And sometimes the reporting of things and getting it out there, especially before the game, does change what actually happens. But I may never know. And I have since gotten calls from people who confirmed it to me calling me up and asking me what changed, and I literally have no idea."
While Rapoport didn't enjoy being wrong, he said that it does occasionally happen.
"It happens, unfortunately. It is not fun," he said. "I also reported that Rich Rodriguez had agreed to terms with Alabama, which he had. And then he didn't, and then they hired Nick Saban. So life as a reporter is weird. But for anyone wondering, that is what happened."