Cleveland Browns: Should the Browns give Josh Gordon one last chance?

The Cleveland Browns have been let down by Josh Gordon more than once, but should the franchise give the talented receiver one final chance?

It feels like just yesterday we were all watching Josh Gordon take over the league. Josh Gordon was one of the most transcendent wide receivers that I have ever watched play the game of football and it didn’t matter who was throwing him the football. While Gordon was virtually unguardable on the field, it was off the field where he failed to keep his guard up.

Off-the-field problems have always been an issue for Gordon dating all the way back to college. After being dismissed from Baylor for failing multiple drugs test and a marijuana-related arrest, Gordon transferred to Utah where he failed another test. All of the cloudiness surrounding Gordon resulted in him dropping into the supplementary draft, where the Browns selected him in the second round. Everyone knew Gordon would be a risk to take in the draft, but acknowledged that other talented players like Gordon have entered the league and overcame the problems.

Despite having a rookie season to remember, being named to the ESPN.com All-Rookie Team with 50+ catches and over 800 receiving yards, Gordon failed the first of his multiple drug tests in June 2013. The failed drug test would result in being suspended for the first two games of 2013.

Even after missing the first two games of 2013, Josh Gordon would go on to lead the league in receiving with 1,646 yards (from three different quarterbacks), was named to the First-Team All-Pro, and also was named to the Pro Bowl. Josh had also set NFL records by being the gates. Josh Gordon had arrived and it seemed like the Browns have found the cornerstone of their franchise.

“People there definitely had heavier problems than anything I’ve done. [The media] want to create this monster. Every story about me seems so harsh. ‘He’s an addict, a junkie, a cokehead.’ That’s not who you really are.” – Josh Gordon on rehab after release in October 2014

The next few seasons after were not kind to Gordon. In July 2014, Josh Gordon was pulled over from driving impaired and was suspended for the first 10 games of that season where he had a below par return. Gordon was also suspended the entire 2015 season after failing another alcohol test.

Roger Goodell reinstated Josh Gordon in July 2016 but also suspended him for the first four games. Browns great Jim Brown played a huge role in advocating to get Gordon back on the field and mentoring him while he was away from the game of football. It looked like Josh Gordon hadn’t lost his step while watching him in preseason and baring something crazy happening, Gordon was set to return Week 5 against the Patriots.

September 29, 2016: Josh Gordon announced he would enter inpatient rehab facility.

September 30, 2016: Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson said, “We’re moving on from him (Josh Gordon), we need to close that chapter.”

Most believe this was in the wake of another failed drug test, but no evidence has been found to support such a claim. Regardless, Roger Goodell put Josh Gordon back on the indefinite suspension list. The theory that I believe is that after Gordon took the paternity test and realized he was a father, he made the mature decision to take time to get right before returning to the game. Sometimes things pop in your life and force you to make a change for someone else. Mental health should trump anything else in your life, especially for someone who has struggled his whole adult life with addiction.

Most also expected Josh Gordon was to be released from the team after Hue Jackson took the podium that September day, but Gordon has remained on the Browns roster the remainder of the 2016 season. I think that the Browns are weighing their options with Gordon and have not actually made a decision on whether to release him or not. If the Browns had already made up their minds, Gordon would have been released that very day. It says a whole lot to how far the Browns think Gordon has come and fought to overcome his shortcomings of the field.

Josh Gordon is set to be a restricted free agent this offseason, which means if a team does decide to sign him, the Browns have a chance to retain him by matching the offer. No one may even want the chance to go after his past so it could be a low risk/high reward situation for the Browns if they give him a one-year contract to prove himself.

Josh Gordon has taken the proper steps to get back on the field, which he already had prior to the 2016 season, and if the Browns feel like he is mentally right, I don’t see why we couldn’t see a Josh Gordon return in a Browns uniform come the 2017.

Personally, I think the Browns should give Josh Gordon one last shot. We have seen what he can do and I don’t think that was his ceiling. At the ripe age of 25, he still has plenty left in the tank. If the Browns don’t give him another chance it could be the biggest mistake the franchise has ever made, but the decision is all in the hands of Gordon to be the best he can be on and off the field. All of us were kids once and we all have made mistakes along the way. Josh seems like he has learned from his mistakes and wants to flip the script and redeem himself.

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Maybe one day when the rules in the NFL and narrative finally changes about marijuana, we can all look back on this and wonder why we tortured him for something so minuscule in importance.