The NFL's community of current and former players remains behind Josh Gordon as he continues battling the off-field demons that have derailed his football career. But Hall-of-Famer Michael Irvin, while supportive of the former First-Team All-Pro wide receiver, is concerned that his failed stint with the New England Patriots could halt his road toward recovery from addiction and mental health issues.

“What I hoped, was that this opportunity for him right here, right now, is that [Gordon] could've been on this stage,” Irving said at an event in Atlanta before the Super Bowl, per Fanatics View.  “It would've been the strength that pulls him away from the strongholds that hold him back. That's ultimately what I was hoping. In Cleveland, you probably lose hope of ever going to the playoffs and having or ever getting to play in the Super Bowl, but you knew in New England he had a chance.

“And I was hoping that the lure of that would keep him and hold him, and keep him away from the things that keep pulling him back,” he continued. “And now, you almost gotta worry, with the Patriots being here and him being that close — if it drives him deeper into that hole.”

Irvin, who was accused of multiple sexual assaults during his playing days and was arrested on drug charges shortly after retiring, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007. The five-time Pro Bowler won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys in the mid 1990s.

Gordon's career has been derailed by off-field issues since his meteoric rise to stardom in 2013. He enjoyed brief success with the Patriots in 2018 after being cut by the Cleveland Browns, but was released by New England in late December and subsequently suspended indefinitely by the league.

The 27-year-old then announced that he would be stepping away from football and the public eye in general to focus on improving his mental health.