Rumor: NFL denies Josh Gordon’s bid for reinstatement

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon’s bid for reinstatement has reportedly been denied by the NFL, moving him one step closer to the end of his career.

The dream may not be entirely over just yet, but it sounds like it will be delayed yet again as the NFL has reportedly denied the reinstatement bid of Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon.

The news was first reported in a Tweet by Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports:

Gordon, who has not played in a regular season game since the end of the 2014 season, can reportedly reapply in the fall.

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This is the latest setback for a player who led the NFL with 1,646 receiving yards in 2013, but who has appeared in just five of the Browns last 48 regular season games because of multiple suspensions.

Gordon was poised to rejoin the Browns last season after being conditionally reinstated and having to serve a four-game suspension. But on the eve of his return, Gordon entered an in-patient rehab facility.

A day later, reports surfaced that the Browns planned to move on from Gordon and head coach Hue Jackson publicly stated that was the best course of action, according to cleveland.com:

"“What’s best for our football team is that we move forward and move on. He’s not going to be with us and we wish him well, but we’re moving forward. We’re going to move on. Obviously Josh is not here and doing what he thinks he needs to for his life which we support 100 percent and after today, today is really the last Josh Gordon comment I want to make about that.”"

Despite the public comments from the team, some fans still clung to the fantasy that Gordon would make a triumphant return to the Browns and be the Pro Bowl player he was for that fleeting moment in 2013, rather than the disinterested player who closed out the 2014 season in disappointing fashion.

Today’s news, if it turns out to be accurate, puts all that to rest, at least for the coming months. The “fall” is a bit of an ambiguous term, but the NFL does not move quickly when players seek to be reinstated, so even if Gordon were to reapply in September, it seems unlikely that he would take the field this season.

This may not be the final chapter in Gordon’s NFL career, but it certainly brings everyone one page closer to the end.

Next: The definitive DPD Josh Gordon retrospective

We’ve always wished the best for Gordon and hope that he can finally conquer the demons that have plagued him. But as we’ve repeatedly written when the subject comes up, it is time for fans to join the Browns and move on from the idea that Gordon will be wearing the Orange and Brown again one day.