The Browns may wait until Friday to formally activate wide receiver Josh Gordon, but they won’t be waiting to put him into a central role on their offense.
Gordon has not played in a regular season game since December 21, 2014 because of suspensions, but coach Hue Jackson said on Monday that the team is not going to ease him back into things when they take on the Chargers in Week 13 unless Gordon makes it clear that they have to rein him in.
“My plans for him? Oh boy, let me tell you, I have big plans for him,’' Jackson said, via Cleveland.com. “I plan for him to play and play as much as he can handle. He’s a very talented player. He needs to get out there and play but we have to see where he is and make sure how much can he handle, how much can he do.”
If the Browns do feed Gordon on Sunday, it won’t be the first time that’s happened in his first game back from a league-mandated ban. Gordon was suspended for the first 10 games of the 2014 season and then saw 16 targets while making eight catches for 120 yards in his debut appearance.
Quarterback DeShone Kizer said he won’t force the ball to Gordon this weekend, but it won’t be forcing if Gordon is the best option available and the results of the first 11 games of this season do little to suggest that’s an impossible scenario.