Browns receiver Josh Gordon is arguing in his grievance against the Browns that they never told him that he had a problem with chronic tardiness.
The Browns say they suspended him for the final game of the regular season because he showed up late for a walk-through practice the day before the game. According to the team, that was the last straw after Gordon had already been late five or six times -- or about once a week after his 10-game suspension to start the season came to an end.
But according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Gordon says he was never officially told that he’d been tardy.
Of course, the Browns might argue that they didn’t have to officially tell Gordon he was tardy because he could see that he was tardy when he walked into team meetings and saw that everyone else had already started work before he arrived.
Still, the Browns would have been wise to dot all their i’s and cross all their t’s and put something in writing to let Gordon know he was on thin ice. If they lose this grievance, they’ll wish they hadn’t waited until the last practice of the season to take action against Gordon’s chronic tardiness.
Gordon is seeking back pay in the amount of $48,564, which is the amount of money he lost when he didn’t get paid for the Browns’ final game of the season.
More importantly, Gordon is seeking to have that final game count as his sixth game of the 2014 season, which will allow him to accrue a season toward free agency. If Gordon wins his grievance and gets his accrued season toward free agency, he can become a free agent after the 2016 season. If Gordon loses his grievance, he can’t become a free agent until after the 2017 season.
Gordon has a long way to go before he reaches free agency. He’s suspended for the entire 2015 season for violations of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, and he needs to stay clean to get reinstated for the 2016 season.