Seattle Seahawks release WR Josh Gordon, TE Greg Olsen

The Seattle Seahawks on Thursday released wide receiver Josh Gordon and tight end Greg Olsen, according to the NFL’s transaction wire.

Gordon, who remains indefinitely suspended by the NFL, joined the Zappers of the start-up Fan Controlled Football league, a chance for him to continue playing football. The release of Olsen is more of a formality, as he announced his retirement after 14 seasons in January.

Gordon, 29, did not play for the Seahawks last season after his conditional reinstatement was rescinded. He’d been set to suit up for the final two games of the 2020 regular season before ending the year on the Commissioner’s Exempt list.

Gordon appeared in five games for Seattle in 2019, posting seven receptions for 139 yards before an indefinite suspension for violating the NFL’s policies on performance-enhancing substances and substances of abuse. His long-time battle with substance abuse well documented, Gordon seemed to have found a home with the Seahawks and he made a good impression on the team. That led to Seattle re-signing him to a one-year deal last September, despite a suspension still in place. But he wouldn’t take the field for the Seahawks again.

Gordon, once a promising star in the NFL, has 4,252 receiving yards and 20 receiving touchdowns in 65 career games. He was a first-team All-Pro selection and a Pro Bowler in 2013 with Cleveland, who drafted him in the second round of the 2012 supplemental draft, after leading the NFL with 1,646 receiving yards in just 14 games. But off-the-field struggles with substance abuse have derailed his career. The NFL has suspended him eight times, including for the entire 2015 and ‘16 seasons.

While Gordon becomes an unrestricted free agent with his release -- he'd been set to become one when his contract expires on March 17, when the new league year begins -- he remains indefinitely suspended by the NFL.

With the Zappers of the FCF, he reunites with former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, his ex-teammate with the Cleveland Browns.

Olsen, 35, had 24 catches for 239 yards and a touchdown in 11 games in his lone season with the Seahawks. He’d signed a one-year deal worth $7 million with the team last spring after putting together a Hall-of-Fame resume with the Carolina Panthers.

Olsen, who is signing a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Panthers, is already set to embark on a television career with FOX.