The Seattle Seahawks on Thursday officially released wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was suspended indefinitely, and retired tight end Greg Olsen.
The moves were procedural, with Gordon having joined another league and Olsen having already announced his retirement on Jan. 24.
Gordon posted on Twitter that he "personally asked" the Seahawks to be released, noting that his contract "was expired but still legally binding."
Gordon is joining the startup Fan Controlled Football league as a member of the FCF Zappers, where he'll again be a teammate of former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel, team owner Bob Menery told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Saturday.
Gordon returned to the Seahawks on a one-year deal last offseason, technically making him an unrestricted free agent in 2021. But he didn't play for Seattle in 2020 after he was conditionally reinstated from his indefinite suspension only to have his reinstatement put on hold for violating the terms.
The NFL then suspended Gordon, 29, indefinitely again after the season, with a league spokesperson telling ESPN at the time that the decision stemmed from the receiver violating terms of his conditional reinstatement under the league's substance abuse policy. No other details were provided from the league.
Sources told ESPN when Gordon was attempting to be reinstated last offseason that he realized this would likely be his last strike with the NFL
He last played in December 2019, one day before the league announced his indefinite suspension for violating its policies on performance enhancing substances and substances of abuse. That was Gordon's sixth suspension since the 2013 season and his fifth for some form of substance abuse, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
In 63 NFL games, he has 247 receptions, 4,252 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was drafted by the Browns in the second round of the 2012 NFL supplemental draft after playing at Utah and Baylor.
Olsen, 35, spent the 2020 season with the Seahawks after nine years with the Carolina Panthers, where he became the first tight end in NFL history to have three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 2014 to 2016.
Earlier Thursday, Olsen tweeted a hint that he would be joining Thomas Davis by signing a one-day contract next Thursday to retire with the Panthers.