Browns safety Donte Whitner was trying to be nice, thinking he was hailing the work ethic of suspended wide receiver Josh Gordon earlier this week.
But Gordon took exception to being labeled as ballooning up to 255 pounds, and he and Whitner had a little friendly Twitter back-and-forth over it.
Via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Gordon began with a simple reply to Whitner that read “255? LOL”
He followed by scolding the media for the original story, saying “C’mon now, my story is crazy enough.. No need for fabrication.. Smh..”
Whitner replied by saying he was simply trying to illustrate how hard Gordon was working.
Of course, it wasn’t the Plain Dealer that fabricated anything, it was Whitner adding pounds to the scale for Gordon, but the media is always a more convenient whipping boy than a teammate so that’s to be understood.
“I understand that he’s very dedicated,’' Whitner said during his initial remarks. “I understand that he can go out there and do anything he wants to do on the football field. He’s that athletically gifted. So when he catches up with the mental aspect of the game and the mental aspect of being in the NFL and the mental aspect of life, then he’ll be an All-Pro again. He’s still young enough to do that. So from what I’ve seen, he’s ready to do it.’'
Gordon has been training with many other players alongside FOX analyst Jay Glazer, who uses MMA-style techniques. And Gordon will need to be in shape, after a lengthy layoff, since he hasn’t played a game since Dec. 21, 2014. But he’s applied for reinstatement after his latest substance abuse suspension, and the Browns are clearly waiting for open arms if the league lets him back in.