BEREA, Ohio -- Josh Gordon has played in just 10 regular-season games since his Pro Bowl season in 2013, and yet, the Cleveland Browns have remained committed to him as he works through personal issues.
The Browns remained supportive of Gordon when it was announced earlier this week that he would not be present in Berea for the start of training camp as he tends to off-the-field issues in order to be in a better place upon his return.
“Josh is 100 percent committed to the Cleveland Browns. The Cleveland Browns are 100 percent committed to him,” Browns general manager John Dorsey said in his pre-training camp press conference Wednesday.
“He’s had a great offseason. He’s had great training, so you know what, let’s just see what happens here. Let’s see how this thing … let’s see what happens. All I care about is let’s respect his privacy. Let’s see him move forward.”
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Since joining the Browns through a second-round pick in the 2012 NFL Supplemental Draft, Gordon has turned 179 catches into 3,089 yards and 15 touchdowns.
During the 2013 season, Gordon set a franchise record with an NFL-best 1,646 yards on 87 receptions with nine of those catches going for touchdowns after missing the first two games because of a suspension.
However, after the Pro Bowl season, Gordon was suspended for 44 consecutive games, which brought his career total to 56 missed games, 55 of which were NFL bans for positive drug and alcohol tests.
“Right now, I think the most important thing for Josh is continue what he’s doing right now because at the end of day, it’s about his person getting better, and that’s what we’re all looking for here,” Dorsey said.
“When we get to that point, when he decides to come back, I think then you embrace him and see where he is and move forward, see where he is physically in terms of conditioning and getting ready to play the game of football. Then, we’ll see what it is. Who knows what it could be? It could be 10 days. It could be 20 days. It could be 30 days.”
When asked if the NFL has informed the Browns of Gordon facing another suspension, Dorsey would not answer the question, instead choosing to “respect Josh’s privacy” at this time, saying only the team will welcome him back when he is ready to return.
“You’re talking about a young man that’s doing everything he can to put himself in the best position to be better in his life, and I think that’s great for Josh,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said.
“He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, and when I look at this situation, I think it’s been said by everybody he’s doing everything he can to prevent future issues. So this is, I think, a different situation in my mind. I don’t think this is something and I think you guys have said the league says there’s no issues that way. So I think this is a young man who’s putting himself in position to be better for himself and for his football team and the organization, so I feel pretty good about that.”
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