The definitive DPD retrospective of Josh Gordon (Updated Sept. 4)
By Thomas Moore
Finally, after a lost season in 2015, Josh Gordon was ready to go in 2016 under first-year head coach Hue Jackson.
Conditionally reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, all Gordon had to do was sit out one final four-game suspension and then he could resume his career.
But just days before his potential reinstatement, Gordon voluntarily entered a rehab facility and remained on the league’s suspended list.
Josh Gordon applies for reinstatement to the NFL (Jan. 20): Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon has applied for reinstatement to the NFL, according to ESPN Cleveland. Citing an anonymous source, the report said that Gordon will learn if he can rejoin the Browns within 60 days of filing his application with the league office.
Josh Gordon must prove he has overcome his past (Jan. 20): Josh Gordon’s impending return to the NFL and the Cleveland Browns became one step closer to reality, as news broke this morning of Gordon applying for reinstatement from his one year suspension for a banned substance. As Gordon prepares for his return to the field the question of can you trust the star wide receiver who is a multiple offender of the substance abuse policy moving forward? Can you rely on him to stay clean and pick up where he left off setting team receiving records?
Josh Gordon a key to success in 2016 (Feb. 1): The Cleveland Browns are in an interesting situation. The one player who may make the biggest impact on the team was on the roster in 2015, but was not able to play in any games due to a season-long suspension. That player, Josh Gordon, is now up for reinstatement for the 2016 season.
Josh Gordon needs to convince the NFL that he has changed (Feb. 6): The Cleveland Browns are in the process of rebuilding their offense under head coach Hue Jackson where, in addition to the quarterback position, the team will be looking to add firepower at wide receiver. That can come through free agency, with Marvin Jones of the Cincinnati Bengals a possible target, through the draft, and by resigning Travis Benjamin before he hits free agency. Could it also include the return of wide receiver Josh Gordon?
Is Josh Gordon the No. 1 WR? (Feb. 15): As the days pass and more negative news comes out about Johnny Manziel, Josh Gordon has remained out of the news. He has kept quiet and has done nothing to hurt his chances of returning to the Cleveland Browns for the 2016 season. It appears as if Gordon will indeed be reinstated, unless Roger Goodell pulls the ultimate villain move to keep the Browns in the basement of the NFL.
Sashi Brown: Josh Gordon will be welcomed back (Feb. 25): Cleveland Browns executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown met with the media at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday and delivered some news that should get Browns fans excited. The team is prepared to welcome back wide receiver Josh Gordon if he is reinstated by the NFL.
Is Josh Gordon hanging out with Johnny Manziel a big deal? (March 6): Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon was photographed hanging out with Johnny Manziel at a UFC fight. Should that be cause for concern for the Browns?
Josh Gordon still in limbo (March 15): There has been a lot of noise surrounding the Cleveland Browns during the past week, but one player’s name has not been brought up often. Josh Gordon remains suspended by the NFL and is awaiting his chance at reinstatement.
Josh Gordon continues to make poor decisions (April 11): The Cleveland Browns and Josh Gordon are in a holding pattern waiting on word from the NFL about whether or not the thrice-suspended wide receiver will be reinstated. They may be waiting a while longer, however, following a report from ESPN that Gordon has taken up residence in Los Angeles with Johnny Manziel.
NFL denies Josh Gordon’s bid for reinstatement (April 12): The NFL provided some clarity to the ongoing murky situation surrounding Josh Gordon by reportedly denying his appeal to be reinstated from his latest suspension. Gordon can reportedly try again for reinstatement any time after Aug. 1 but, once again for those still in denial, there are no guarantees that the NFL will allow him back into the league.
Jim Brown says Josh Gordon is motivated to return (June 2): The Cleveland Browns will bring the off-season to an official close next week during the team’s veteran minicamp. The Browns will have one less player to worry about this month, of course, as wide receiver Josh Gordon remains on the league’s suspension list for violating the substance abuse policy. Gordon was eligible to be reinstated in April, but the league denied his bid after he reportedly failed a drug test for marijuana in March. He can try again for reinstatement on Aug. 1.
Josh Gordon has no place on the Browns (June 7): Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon remains suspended by the NFL and may never play another game in a Browns uniform.
Josh Gordon conditionally reinstated, suspended 4 games (July 25): Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon has been officially reinstated by the NFL after missing all of the 2015 NFL season for his latest run-in with the league’s substance abuse policy. But before you start saving up for playoff tickets, Browns fans, there are some conditions to Gordon’s return to the team.
Josh Gordon’s reinstatement is bittersweet (July 26): To Cleveland Browns fans’ delight, Josh Gordon was reinstated by Roger Goodell on Monday. Gordon returns to the Browns after missing 27 of the last 32 games due to suspension and when he last played two seasons ago, he struggled to shake the rust off and return to form. Yet, the prospect of a Baylor super team consisting of Josh Gordon, Corey Coleman and Robert Griffin III is something fans can get excited about.
Josh Gordon given final chance by NFL (July 26): The main news surrounding the Cleveland Browns entering this week had to do with training camp starting this Friday. The rookies, quarterbacks and injured veterans reported to camp Monday, but the focus was still largely on Friday. That was until Josh Gordon was reinstated by Roger Goodell for the 2016 season.
Josh Gordon and expectations (July 27): Author Sylvia Plath wrote that “If you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed.” That is a good bit of advice for the Cleveland Browns and their fans regarding the return of wide receiver Josh Gordon.
Can Josh Gordon avoid being a one-year wonder? (July 29): The Cleveland Browns have delivered more than their share of disappointment to fans since returning to the NFL in 1999. That is why it is not surprising to see three Browns players on For the Win‘s list of the 10 biggest one-year wonders in the NFL history. The start of training camp offers quarterback Robert Griffin III, currently sitting at No. 4, a chance to remove his name from the list. It also may represent the final chance for wide receiver Josh Gordon to ensure that he will not take up permanent residence at the top of any future one-year wonder lists.
Browns should listen if teams call about Josh Gordon (July 29):
Only the most obtuse of fans would fail to acknowledge that the Cleveland Browns are in full-on rebuilding mode. That is why executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown should at least answer the phone this summer if another team calls about wide receiver Josh Gordon.
Josh Gordon should not be traded in 2016 (July 31): Josh Gordon has not yet taken part in a practice as a member of the Cleveland Browns since being reinstated, but talks of trading him seem to be coming out every day. Some takes are from those who simply don’t trust him, while others see him as a valuable asset to trade in order acquire more draft picks as part of the ongoing rebuild. But trading Gordon before he even gets a chance to get back on the field, as he is suspended for the first four games of the regular season, would not be a smart move.
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Who benefits the most from Josh Gordon’s absence? (Aug. 2): The Cleveland Browns are going to have a roster decision to make after Josh Gordon returns from suspension. So who can benefit the most in his absence?
Browns activate Josh Gordon; now what? (Aug. 15): In a move that Cleveland Browns fans have been waiting almost two years for, the team activated wide receiver Josh Gordon from the non-football injury list and Gordon practiced with the team for the first time since December of 2014.
Trading Josh Gordon would be a mistake (Aug. 23): The Cleveland Browns gave Josh Gordon a chance when other teams may have decided to cut him loose.That is why some fans may have been surprised this morning when seeing news reported by Adam Schefter on Facebook, claiming multiple teams are reaching out to the Browns about Gordon. While it may have come as a surprise, Schefter made it clear the Browns are not close to considering any offers.
Can Josh Gordon clear one last hurdle? (Aug. 31): Thursday night’s preseason game against the Chicago Bears will provide the Cleveland Browns with one last chance to evaluate the roster prior to the start of the regular season. It will also be the last time that anyone sees wide receiver Josh Gordon on the field until the Browns host the New England Patriots on Oct. 9.
The road ahead for Josh Gordon (Sept. 3): Josh Gordon made it clear during the preseason that he has not lost any talent since his last NFL appearance in 2014. Gordon did not appear until the third preseason game, when the Cleveland Browns took on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he quickly reminded fans why he is considered one of the top talents in the game. He finished with two catches for 87 yards, including a great touchdown grab in his first NFL game of any kind since 2014.
Josh Gordon’s latest setback bigger than football (Sept. 29): The Cleveland Browns drafted four wide receivers in the 2016 NFL Draft with the mindset that while Josh Gordon could come back, it was never a guarantee. That belief was validated Thursday when Gordon announced he would be entering a rehab facility, just a few days before he was set to be reinstated for a Week 5 return.
Cleveland Browns moving on from Josh Gordon (Sept. 30): It took less than 24 hours, but the Cleveland Browns are reportedly ready to close the book on troubled but talented wide receiver Josh Gordon. According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, citing an unnamed source, the Browns plan to “part ways” with Gordon after Thursday’s announcement that Gordon was entering an in-patient rehab facility.
Josh Gordon and a failed Week 5 comeback (Oct. 7): While Tom Brady makes his triumphant return to the NFL this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, the home team will be without a player also expected to return.Wide receiver Josh Gordon was finally set to make his return to the Browns, playing in his first regular season game since 2014. But entry into a rehab facility ended all hopes of him making a comeback.
Josh Gordon out of rehab. So what comes next? (Oct. 30): Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, who still remains on the NFL’s suspended list, has reportedly been released from a rehab facility.ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report that Gordon has completed his 30-day stay in a New Hampshire facility, one that Schefter writes was “the most intensive treatment that (Gordon) has gone through, and Gordon is doing a lot better.” The question now is what comes next for Gordon and the Browns?