The New England Patriots have been put in a bit of a tough spot with star wide receiver Josh Gordon deciding to take an indefinite leave of absence from the team to address a personal matter involving his sobriety.

This pushed the Patriots in a position of having to adjust on the fly without one of their primary offensive weapons in the passing game for likely the rest of the season. With that in mind, star quarterback Tom Brady addressed the matter on Friday stating that these type of losses on the field can happen at any given moment, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.

“The reality is, it could happen like the first play of the game too, you know? Someone might sprain an ankle and next thing you know, guys are adjusting,” Brady said. “That’s just part of the nature of playing a long time, is you realize that things happen very quickly and they change very quickly. We lost Jeremy Hill the first game of the year. You think you’ve got all this running back depth, next thing you know, guys get hurt. It’s two weeks in, you’re like, “Holy cow, what happened?” And that’s just part of playing and being mentally tough.”

Article Continues Below
More Patriots News
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrate a touchdown in the second quarter at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens
Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski recreate Lombardi Trophy boat moment with a twistGuillermo Guajardo ·
New England Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (16) warms up before the start of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Gillette Stadium.
Raiders’ Jakobi Meyers earns prestigious tag that’ll leave Patriots fans screamingJaren Kawada ·
New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8) walks to the podium to speak to the media after minicamp held in the WIN Field House at Gillette Stadium.
Josh Allen sends Patriots’ Drake Maye an inspiring Stefon Diggs messageBenedetto Vitale ·
New England Patriots wide receiver Kyle Williams (18) makes a catch during minicamp at Gillette Stadium.
Patriots’ Kyle Williams shows rookie swagger, ready to prove himselfJosh Davis ·
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel talks with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) before the preseason game at Nissan Stadium.
Tom Brady’s endorsement of Mike Vrabel will inspire confidenceScotty White ·
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel speaks to defensive end Keion White (99) and linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson (44) after minicamp held in the WIN Field House at Gillette Stadium.
Patriots’ stud signing bringing ‘physicality’ to Mike VrabelLorenzo J Reyna ·

There isn't anything diminishing of how serious the matter is that Gordon is dealing with off the field. This is something that is much larger and more important for him to get straightened out first before he can even give thought toward trying to resume his football career.

That said, 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.

His absence will push the Patriots to rely more heavily upon wide receiver Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan along with tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back James White.