Josh Gordon’s future continues to be in his hands

The Cleveland Browns are saying the right things about wide receiver Josh Gordon. Now it is up to Gordon to keep his career on track.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon has had one of the strangest careers in NFL history.

One unbelievable season in 2013 when he lead the league with 1,646 receiving yards (a franchise record) while catching 87 passes (second best in team history) and nine touchdowns (only three players have caught more in a Browns uniform).

Two disappointing seasons cut short by suspensions for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

Two seasons completely lost to suspension.

Finally, countless arguments among Browns fans as to just where Gordon fits in, not only within the team but within the discussion of the league’s best players. After all, if you have only had one good season, no matter how special it was, can you really be part of that type of discussion?

That is all in the past now, at least in theory, after Gordon earned his way back into the league in 2017 and appeared in the final five games for the Browns. His numbers were exceedingly pedestrian – 18 receptions for 335 yards and a lone touchdown — but the key takeaway was that Gordon was finally back on the field.

With the worst theoretically behind Gordon, head coach Hue Jackson, while not counting on anything, is hopeful that Gordon can make it onto the field for a full 16 games, something he has yet to accomplish in his NFL career, per cleveland.com:

"“Josh has been great. Josh has been outstanding. He’s having a really good offseason. Obviously, he’s got to continue to do so and continue to do the right things, but I truly believe that Josh Gordon is going to have a great year for us. We want Josh Gordon to be a Cleveland Brown for a long time … but he has to do his part in that and we hope he will and I’m sure he will.”"

General manager John Dorsey said something similar during his time with the media at the annual Scouting Combine, according to ohio.com:

"“I’ve sat down and talked to him, had numerous conversations, and my message to Josh Gordon is, ‘You know what? As long as you’re behind the Cleveland Browns 100 percent, I’m 100 percent behind Josh Gordon.’ I think he’s in a good place right now, but we’ll see how this thing moves forward.”"

It is great that both Jackson and Dorsey are encouraged by where Gordon is at in his ongoing recover efforts. There is no doubt that having Gordon go through a full offseason program, training camp and the preseason, followed by actually being available for a full 16 games will make the Browns offense better.

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But Dorsey and Jackson are not the ones who have to make this work. As always, that falls squarely on the shoulders of Gordon.

It is one thing to say everything is going well in March, it’s another to make it through the pressures of life between now and the start of the regular season in September. No one can go that for Gordon, he has to do it himself.

After everything that Gordon and the Browns have been through since the team selected him in the 2012 Supplemental Draft, it is pretty amazing that they have reached the point where the possibility exists that Gordon can be a viable member of the team in 2018.

The fact that Gordon has made it this far is a credit to him. The next step will be for him to be available every week this fall.

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As Dorsey said, as long as Gordon is committed to the Browns, the Browns will be committed to him.

It’s all in Gordon’s hands now.