Cleveland Browns: Gordon Misstep Shouldn’t Shock Anyone
By Joe Russo
Josh Gordon has not played for some time as the Cleveland Browns. His most recent incident does not improve his chances of getting back onto the field anytime soon. Cleveland has not been able to rely on him and going forward that is not changing.
As noted on this site and just about everywhere with access to the internet, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon has failed another NFL-administered drug test. With both his A and B samples testing positive, albeit under the technical threshold of a positive test but instead of a diluted one, Gordon’s reinstatement looks like an impossibility.
Despite the reports that Gordon was determined to make it back to the NFL to play for the Cleveland Browns, and had been working as hard as ever to prepare for his reinstatement, the delay in the NFL’s decision on Gordon’s status now appears to have had merit.
As we all blow-up Twitter asking how someone can be so stupid and waste so much talent, let’s not act like we couldn’t see this coming. Gordon was dismissed from not just one, but two separate colleges for drug related issues.
Upon entering the league, Gordon failed another drug test and missed the first two games of the 2013 season. That suspension was only his second season as a pro!
The following year, he was suspended for 10 games, which was actually a reduction from a year-long suspension. Soon after the end of the 2014 season, Gordon was suspended for an entire year in February of 2015 for abusing drugs and alcohol, almost directly related to a drunken-driving arrest in North Carolina.
But right now, that is not even the worst part. Many outlets have reported that not only has Gordon been living off of Sunset Boulevard, he has been living former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel.
If this comes as a shock, it might be because not too long ago Manziel claimed that he was living with former college teammate Von Miller in the Denver, Colorado area. Combining Gordon’s drug test and Manziel’s antics has to be the most ridiculous living arrangement in California, which is saying something.
So while Twitter blows up with Gordon’s tweets and people losing their minds, none of this should surprise anyone at all. Gordon’s checkered history was not a surprise when the Cleveland Browns gave up a second-round pick in the Supplemental Draft for him.
It was not a surprise when he was suspended in 2013 or 201 and it should not be now after he was suspended for a year in 2015. I will admit, I was rooting for Gordon to make it back into the league, but it looks like he won’t have that chance now. And with Manziel as his sidekick, things might actually get worse for Gordon.
It is a shame that Gordon looks to be heading down the path of Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon instead of the path of Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter. But make no mistake, Gordon’s own choices got him here.
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In today’s NFL, if he had simply beaten a woman while brandishing a weapon (free agent defensive end Greg Hardy), killed someone while driving drunk (former Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent), or only carried enough drugs for a pharmacy while owning a team (Indianapolis Colts’ Jim Irsay), then Gordon would be welcomed back into the NFL with open arms. For now, though, Gordon will be on the outside looking in with a former member of the Cleveland Browns in Manziel at the surprise of absolutely no one.