BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns are in it for the long haul when it comes to wide receiver Josh Gordon.
After sticking by Gordon through 56 games missed because of suspensions, including a 44-game stretch from 2015 through most of the 2017 season, the Browns remain committed to the talented, yet troubled wide receiver as he misses training camp to address personal matters.
“This is a difficult situation,” Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said prior to a recent practice in Berea.
“Josh has clearly struggled with addiction and he would tell you that over a long period of time. I think we saw a different Josh Gordon here in the spring and during workouts. He’s working hard, and we’re going to continue to work with the person and try to help him out, both personally and professionally, until it doesn’t make sense.”
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. Gordon has played in just 10 regular-season games since the end of the 2013 season.
“I think it’s consistent throughout the organization,” Haslam said of the support for Gordon.
“I think John (Dorsey) and Hue (Jackson) have answered this question, Dee and I talk about it a lot. First of all, we’re interested in Josh the person.”
Whenever Gordon is ready to return to the field, the Browns will welcome him back into the fold, but until then, the focus of the franchise will remain with getting the other 90 guys on the roster ready for the 2018 season.
“We’re focused on hoping Josh gets better, respecting his privacy, and at the same time, we’ve got a lot of good football players here that we’re anxious to see,” Haslam said.
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