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Cleveland Browns WR Josh Gordon focusing on 'small victories,' taking things day by day

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon is focusing on "small victories" and taking things day by day as he prepares for the 2018 season.
Credit: Matt Florjancic
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon comes out of a break and prepares to catch a pass during a drill in practice at Organized Team Activities at the organization's Berea headquarters.

BEREA, Ohio -- Just take things day by day.

After going through off-the-field issues, including failed drug and alcohol tests, a trip to rehab to battle addiction and a paternity suit that proved he was the father to a little girl in nearby Maple Heights, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon has learned the importance of taking things as they come.

“It’s just one day at a time,” Gordon said after a recent offseason practice. “You got today and that’s all we’re really given.

“The next day, if I’m blessed with the opportunity to wake up, try and tackle it with the same mentality and mindset and the same perseverance, same set of goals and try to stick to that day by day as opposed to looking way down the road and worrying about two, three, four, five years from now. All we have is today.”

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.

A Pro Bowl player in 2013, 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 of the season because of a suspension.

However, since that Pro Bowl season, Gordon was suspended for 44 consecutive games dating back to the final week of the 2014 season, a streak that began with a team ban for reportedly missing a walk-through prior to a trip to Baltimore to play the Ravens.

Credit: Matt Florjancic
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon hauls in a pass in the end zone during a drill in practice at Organized Team Activities at the organization's Berea headquarters.

In the six years since joining the Browns, Gordon has been suspended for 56 career games, 55 of which were NFL bans for positive drug and alcohol tests.

“Oh no, you definitely don’t want to be white-knuckling through it,” Gordon said.

“There’s a lot of other contributing factors that go into to that to try to alleviate some of that stress and that pressure that you may feel at any point in time, but it definitely gets easier as time goes on. Day after day, you feel a lot less anxious or whatever the case may be, but it gets easier as time goes on.”

As Gordon to stack up good days off the field, he looks forward to celebrating “the small victories,” including “getting up and not having to worry about whether or not you have some type of security or a place to stay, or like just spending time with my daughter.”

Credit: Matt Florjancic
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon hauls in a pass in the end zone during a drill in practice at Organized Team Activities at the organization's Berea headquarters.

And for those things, Gordon is truly grateful.

“When I do find myself reminiscing of what’s transpired in my life, really just blessed, man, and thankful,” Gordon said. “Right now, for me, it’s a bunch of the small victories day to day, just being able to come to work. Like the little, little things, having some structure in my life.

“Just really the gratitude more than anything, that’s just what I’m thankful for. I could be anywhere. You could be anywhere in the world doing something that you don’t love to do, and I’m fortunate enough to be out here trying to give 100 percent at something I couldn’t imagine myself having that much fun doing anything else, so it’s a tremendous opportunity.

“I feel pretty good right now. Life is great right now, and that’s kind of all I know. Life is good now.”

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