Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon could learn later this month whether he’s facing a one-year ban under the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
And according to a published report, there’s some trepidation about how a long absence away from the NFL could affect him.
Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that “sources close” to the wide receiver are worried Gordon could struggle to eventually be reinstated if he’s banished from the club and kept away from the team’s “support system” for an extended time, with the sources cited by Cabot reportedly drawing a parallel between Gordon and the Jaguars’ Justin Blackmon, who was banned indefinitely last year.
The Browns’ most dynamic offensive player and one of the game’s top receivers, Gordon made the Pro Bowl in 2013, hauling in 87 passes for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns. But off-field issues have affected his collegiate and pro careers. Per multiple published reports, he failed multiple drug tests at Baylor, which dismissed him from the team in 2011.
The 23-year-old Gordon served a two-game NFL substance abuse ban last season. Were he suspended for a year, his reinstatement would be in the hands of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, per the league’s substance abuse policy.