Browns: Joke or not, Cleveland needs to stay away from Josh Gordon

The Browns should not bring back Josh Gordon.

The Browns lost Jarvis Landry for a few weeks, and the former Pro Bowl receiver is going on the IR. With Odell Beckham presumably set to return against the Bears, but anything’s possible at this point, the team should be alright without Landry for a month. The team still has Rashard Higgins, and while Anthony Schwartz and Donovan Peoples-Jones have struggled to make impacts, they remain potential targets.

That doesn’t even include Harrison Bryant or Demetric Felton, both of whom could play in the slot if needed.

Despite the abundance of pass-catching options, receiver does feel a bit light at the moment. The team may be over-relying on young talent to take huge steps forward, and it’s becoming obvious that they just aren’t up to the task as of yet. Cue 92.3’s Adam the Bull tweeting about bringing back Josh Gordon.

The Browns should stay away from Josh Gordon

It felt like Bull was joking because who in their right mind would want to bring back Gordon? I want to make that clear, Bull is more than likely kidding. The problem is, there are people who actually want that to happen. So let’s just nip this in the bud; the Browns should never bring back Gordon.

It’s fine if you want to argue second chances, but guys like Gordon (and others) have had more than their fair share of chances in this league. He is the definition of unreliable. If someone wants to give him a shot, more to power to them, but it shouldn’t be the Browns.

The NFLPA is attempting to get him reinstated, for what feels like the 12th or 13th time, and they’ll likely get him reinstated into the league. So more than likely, he’s going to be a topic of conversation again around the NFL blogosphere.

So jokes or not, we need to state now that Gordon isn’t someone who needs to be in this locker room. Leadership can only go so far, and locker room cultures can only improve someone so much. We know that Gordon has substance issues and he’s failed time and time again.

Let’s say the Browns were to give him a shot, Beckham doesn’t recover and Landry gets hurt again but Gordon goes all out and starts putting up numbers. Now we’re relying on him, drawing up plays for him, focusing more on him.

Then boom, another failed drug test. Then what?

If there are still fans of his, and they want him back in the NFL, that’s fine. Just let him go to Las Vegas or Tampa Bay or any other city that has an over-abundance of talent or no real standard for player behavior.