If Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon is reinstated following an NFL suspension of at least a year, Browns executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown said Thursday that Gordon will be in the team’s plans.
The talented but often suspended Gordon has not yet been reinstated, and Brown said the team does not know when a ruling from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell might come. But Brown has talked to Gordon, and evidently their discussion went well.
“Josh has made mistakes but he’s been accountable for them,” Brown said. “If he gets back [in the league], there’s a spot on the roster for him.
“He’s serious about wanting to be a pro, so if he’s done things to clean up his past, we would welcome him back.”
Brown’s answer on Gordon was notable not only because it was the first firm indication that the Browns want Gordon to be in their plans. It was also different than the answer new head coach Hue Jackson gave on Wednesday.
“Obviously he’s a very talented individual,” Jackson said of Gordon. “But at the same time, it’s got to fit right for us as we move forward in this situation.”
Brown was promoted from general counsel after last season and is in charge of the 53-man roster. Gordon’s latest suspension is his third in the last three seasons.
Gordon was drafted in the second round of the supplemental draft by then-general manager Tom Heckert when Pat Shurmur was head coach. He was suspended for the first two games of 2013 but went on to lead the NFL in receiving yards under coach Rob Chudzinski, but suspensions limited him to six games in two seasons under Mike Pettine, all in 2014. He was suspended for at least a year in early 2015.