Earlier this week, it was announced that New England Patriots star wide receiver Josh Gordon was going to step away from the team in order to address a personal matter involving his sobriety.

This is quite a serious matter that Gordon is taking the proper initiative to tend to, but it also puts the team in a tough bind having to find other ways to compensate for his absence in the passing game. It is something that Pro Bowl tight end Rob Gronkowski addressed by stating that he and the rest of the team need to step up, according to Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com.

“You’ve got to,” he said. “Coming down to crunch time, end of the year, we’ve got to pick it up, including myself. We’ve got to go out there and make plays. … I feel like the offense really doesn’t need to change. I feel like players like myself just need to step up and start making plays.”

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Gordon had played a huge part in the Patriots offense as their primary offensive weapon in the passing game as their top receiving threat. In 10 games played, he tallied 10 receptions on 68 targets for 720 receiving yards and three touchdowns. This included him notching a pair of 100 receiving yard performances along with seven games posting 50 or more receiving yards.

The 25-year-old has provided a tremendous amount of production this season as their biggest deep-ball threat. It is something that the Patriots could likely struggle to fill the void, but will try to do so with the likes of Gronkowski along with wide receivers Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan, and running back James White all picking up extended roles in the passing game.

Nonetheless, these final two games of the regular season will be their opportunity to find a game plan that works that can compensate for the loss of Gordon.