Expect Josh Gordon Decision (6 to 10 Games?) Today

As we have expected for the past week, we think today the NFLPA will vote on the new Drug Policy. The new policy is expected to help Josh Gordon and the Cleveland Browns but how much? That there will be a vote today is based on a tweet from George Atallah of the NFLPA and other reports:

Attalah is the Assistant Executive Director of the PA so his words have a ton of weight to them.

What we don’t know is when might this vote happen. Thirty of the 32 player reps likely have practice, or some team related activity, including flying for some, that could make finding a time difficult. Likely that means either sometime in the morning or sometime late this evening for any vote.

All reports are that everything seems in place. The players sent back the proposal to the owners earlier in the week with some concerns. The owners yesterday sent the revised proposal back. It seems like everything is in place according to this ESPN report (New Window):

"• The standard for a positive marijuana test would be raised significantly from the current 15 ng/ml of THC, though not all the way up to the current Olympic standard of 150 ng/ml, making it harder to test positive. According to Gordon’s account, his most recent positive test would not have been a positive test at all under the new policy.• After a first positive marijuana test, a player would have his case reviewed after one year by a clinician, who would have the power to remove the player from the drug program if he met certain standards of behavior and cooperation. As it currently stands, a first positive test places the player into the drug program for the duration of his career. The new policy would effectively allow a player to reset to the beginning and treat a next positive test as a first.• The league would agree to allow for neutral arbitration of all drug case appeals, including those for HGH.• The union would agree to blood testing for HGH but would be allowed to challenge the scientific validity of the test in the appeal.• A positive test for amphetamines in the offseason would be adjudicated under the policy for drugs of abuse (such as marijuana), though a positive test for amphetamines during the season would still be handled by the policy on performance-enhancing drugs, as it is now."

Yet for all of us Browns fans hoping for great news for Gordon that same report notes that Gordon could still be suspended for 6 to 10 games and that each suspension will be dealt with separately:

"That could mean an immediate reinstatement for Welker and a reduction of Gordon’s one-year suspension to something in the range of six to 10 games."

Gordon’s repeat offender status is likely the reason he would be treated differently. It is interesting, as a negative is a negative and a positive is a positive, based on the levels. This is where we expect his DUI arrest and his history will play a role. The NFL, the NFLPA and Gordon’s camp are likely to want to get things handled rather quickly. A negotiated settlement may be the best way to do that.

Our best guess is that 4 games is the minimum with 6 games the most likely. Gordon and his team may negotiate being able to be at the facility and practice throughout the suspension in exchange for the extra 2 games.

As always anything is possible. We hope to have more information to you as soon as we can. For now we hope. As Browns fans we know how to do that well.

What do you expect the final result to be?