The Browns started training camp nine days ago. Receiver Josh Gordon still hasn’t joined the team. On Friday, G.M. John Dorsey reiterated that Gordon will be back.
Via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Dorsey told 92.3 The Fan regarding Gordon, “I told you all he would be here, and he will be here.” Dorsey added that there’s still “no timetable for his return.”
Teammate Rashard Higgins said that he has been in regular contact with Gordon.
“We were texting yesterday and he’s in good spirits and we don’t talk about anything about the field or anything,” Higgins said, according to Cabot. “We just talk about, ‘Hey, what’s up bro, how ya doing?’ Family, just little things like that, but we’re not too concerned. We know Josh is handling his business off the field and when he comes back, he’ll be ready to go.”
The Browns placed Gordon on the reserve/did not report list, which by rule means that he’ll have to apply to the team to be removed from that categorization, and that the Commissioner will have to approve his return to the roster. That’s a different mechanism than the substance-abuse policy, to which Gordon remains subject given his return from an extended suspension.
Although the initial statements from the player, the team, and the league seemed ominous, there’s still no specific reason to believe that Gordon is facing another banishment from the league, with the ability to apply for reinstatement after one year. That said, he’s missing valuable reps in training camp as he reportedly seeks assistance in dealing with the stress of life in the NFL, without the ability to resort to alcohol or marijuana, like many others do when faced with the pressures of being subject to constant scrutiny, analysis, and criticism on TV, radio, the Internet, and social media.