A Fan’s Letters to Josh Gordon, the NFL and the Browns

Aug 23, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam during warm ups before the game against the St. Louis Rams at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Dear Cleveland Browns,

I am angry with you!

Now I am much more angry with both Josh Gordon and the NFL than I am with you. However you are not off the hook.

You knew the second day of the draft, and from the information I have long before that, that Gordon was likely to be suspended. In a draft full of promising receivers you did nothing. If you knew, like I think you did, about Gordon near the start of free agency, you also passed on a ton of receivers in the free agent market. Receivers who didn’t break the bank on their new contracts, that you could have slightly overpaid to get them.

You could have signed Julian Edelman along with Andrew Hawkins and given yourself a solid 3 some along with Miles Austin once Gordon was suspended. If Gordon doesn’t get suspended you could have a group of 4 receivers that could challenge the defenses, along with Jordan Cameron, in a 5 wide set. Edelman is just the example, you could have done much more.

Instead now the feeling of the same old Browns is starting to kick in. Was it overconfidence in Gordon getting off? Was it arrogance that Kyle Shanahan can make any receiver look good? Were you giving up on the season before it even started by not addressing a need area? Or do you really think you can win in today’s NFL with running and defense?

I am not even harping on the Sammy Watkins trade. Great job there. That Bills pick plus Justin Gilbert was a steal. I don’t care what Watkins becomes, you make that trade everyday. Heck if Johnny Manziel is terrible you might have two shots next year at a high pick QB.

Yet here we sit, with the 4th Pre-Season game about to start and we have 2 starting receivers whose old teams didn’t try hard to keep them. Heck Hawkins could have been kept by the Bengals, being a restricted free agent and all, but they let him go to their in state, division rivals. Don’t get me wrong I love Hawkins as a #3 receiver. He doesn’t have the size to live up to the #1 spot. And no I don’t think the aging, tight hamstring’d Miles Austin does either.

I feel like you let us down with poor planning. You have the most dedicated fans in the world, yet you seem to be willing to take us for granted. Why do you think that is okay? Please prove me wrong. Please show me that there is a plan, that you can make it work and this isn’t the same ol’ Browns.

Thankfully I will never turn my back on my teams. I cheer for the front of the jersey, not the back. I will still get very excited when things go well and very upset when they don’t. That is the fan base that you have. While others are fair weather, we are all weather. Give us something to believe in again.

Just the first few seconds apply totally:

I see a beautiful team rising from this abyss. Help me to see it all the clearer.

Sincerely,

Jared Mueller – Just a Fan