By Nate Ulrich/Akron Beacon Journal
Browns general manager Ray Farmer said he believes Josh Gordon’s NFL career is on life support and questions whether the former All-Pro wide receiver will use his latest suspension to resuscitate it.
Gordon has officially been banished from the NFL for a minimum of one year after violating its substance-abuse policy again, the league announced Tuesday. Once the league formally announces a suspension like it did with Gordon, there is no longer an opportunity for the player to appeal.
“Josh Gordon of the Cleveland Browns has been suspended without pay for at least one year for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse,” a statement attributed to a league spokesman read. “Gordon’s suspension begins immediately.”
The news about Gordon is another punch to the gut for the Browns and their fans during a young, but turbulent offseason. On Monday, quarterback Johnny Manziel’s camp revealed he checked into a treatment facility Jan. 28.
The Browns have not cut ties with Gordon. They don’t need to pay him while he’s suspended (his base salary for the 2015 season was $1,068,406), so the organization wouldn’t be hurt financially by exercising patience and seeing what happens.
Farmer, though, released a stern statement conveying skepticism about whether Gordon will ever make a comeback.
“As we have conveyed, we are disappointed to once again be at this point with Josh,” Farmer said in the statement. “Throughout his career we have tried to assist him in getting support like we would with any member of our organization. Unfortunately our efforts have not resonated with him. It is evident that Josh needs to make some substantial strides to live up to the positive culture we are trying to build this football team upon.
“Our hope is that this suspension affords Josh the opportunity to gain some clarity in determining what he wants to accomplish moving forward and if he wants a career in the National Football League. We will have no further comment on Josh as he will not be permitted in our facility for the duration of his suspension.”
If Gordon does want a career in the NFL, he must eradicate a pattern of failed drug and alcohol tests. This is the third time he has been suspended for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.
Gordon, 23, won’t play for the Browns in 2015 and he might never play for them again, even though he won’t be scheduled for restricted free agency until after the 2016 season and unrestricted free agency following the 2017 season. He’ll be eligible to apply for reinstatement with Commissioner Roger Goodell on Feb. 3, 2016, provided he complies with his substance-abuse program by passing tests throughout the year.
In the meantime, the Browns must move forward as if Gordon doesn’t exist. Citing an unnamed NFL source, Yahoo reported the team would pursue an impact wide receiver through the draft, free agency or a trade this offseason. The league’s leader with 1,646 receiving yards in 2013, Gordon “no longer factors into any plans,” the source told Yahoo.
In an open letter published last week on Medium.com, Gordon explained his most recent violation occurred when he consumed alcohol Jan. 2 while flying to Las Vegas on a private jet with former Browns wide receivers coach Mike McDaniel and several teammates.
Because Gordon pleaded guilty to driving while impaired early on the morning of July 5 in Raleigh, N.C., alcohol testing became part of his substance-abuse program mandated by the league. But in the letter, he insisted he thought the alcohol testing would only be conducted during the regular season. The Browns played their final game Dec. 28.
“During the flight, I had two beers and two drinks,” Gordon, who maintains he’s neither a drug addict nor an alcohol, wrote in the letter. “It was the first time I had consumed so much as a drop of alcohol since July 4, 2014, the day of the DWI. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not much of a drinker. Even calling me a social drinker would be an exaggeration, but at that moment, on that flight, I made a choice. The wrong choice, as it turned out.” (MCT)
