An unfortunate turn of events has unfolded with the New England Patriots involving star wide receiver Josh Gordon taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team due to what appears to be another slip-up.

This has put his future in the NFL up in the air with reports suggesting that he will likely be in line for another lengthy suspension for possibly violating the league's substance-abuse policy once again. In response to the situation, head coach Bill Belichick stated on Friday that he had spoken to Gordon and he offered him support and well wishes that he could get through this personal matter, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.

“I spoke to Josh yesterday morning, as I have several times since he’s been here,” Belichick said. “It’s obviously an unfortunate situation. Personally I wish him the very best, as we all do on this team. He’s made a statement, the organization has made a statement, the league has made a statement. I have spoken to him at length over the last three months, so I don’t really have anything at this point to add to that. It’s a private matter. I hope that he is able to deal with it successfully. Otherwise we’ve moved on to Buffalo.”

There has yet to be any clarity in terms of what Gordon is going through or what may have happened, but it's clear that the team is going to give him all the time and space necessary to get his life back on track. It's something that is much bigger than the game of football, as he has taken a step back from the personal progress that he has made over the last several months.

Gordon is dealing with an issue that has been hard for many to recover from as it's an ongoing process that never truly has a clear-cut resolution. This is something that requires a tremendous amount of mental fortitude to push through to a better place both mentally and physically.

There isn't a timetable for this type of matter, but it does show that Belichick and the Patriots have a great deal of understanding about how serious this situation is.