The Cleveland Browns Must Trade Josh Gordon

The Cleveland Browns are a long-term problem and Josh Gordon is a short-term solution.

The NFL has announced that Josh Gordon will be reinstated on a conditional basis after a four-game suspension to start the season. The Browns now have to decide what they want to do with Gordon.

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The most realistic option for the Browns is to deal Gordon as soon as they get a reasonable offer.

The best case scenario for Gordon is that he stays out of trouble and is an All-Pro caliber receiver for the 12 games he can play in 2016. He then comes back and is as an All-Pro receiver in 2017.

At that point, Gordon becomes a free agent. The Browns have to then figure out how they are going to pay him. How much and how long?

Given Gordon’s track record and horrible judgment, giving him a bunch of guaranteed money, be it as part of a long term deal or the franchise tag, is a recipe for disaster.

Part of the reason that Gordon may have reformed himself, assuming he has reformed himself, is he may be broke at this point. Gordon wouldn’t be the first and won’t be the last person that behaved himself long enough to get paid and then went right back to self-destructive behavior.

Rather than just being a disappointment to his teammates, he also becomes a problem for the salary cap and the team’s ability to compete in that scenario.

After all, this is the same Gordon that has been unable to go a year without a drug related issue since he was in high school. The same Gordon who is still hanging out with Johnny Manziel- the pinnacle of smart decision making- and was with him the day before being reinstated.

This has been the biggest issue for Gordon since he entered the league. Between family and friends, Gordon has always surrounded himself with problematic influences that end up getting him in trouble. He keeps setting himself up for failure.

If the Browns were in a position to contend, keeping Gordon would make sense. There is no denying his talent. He’s shown he can be a premier receiver in the NFL.

The problem is the Browns are bad and Gordon doesn’t fix that. Even when Gordon caught 87 passes for 1,696 yards and nine touchdowns in 14 games in 2013 (two head coaches ago), the Browns just won four games that year.

For teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks or the Kansas City Chiefs, Gordon is a big time player that could make them a potential favorite this season. And they only need him for that year or two window where they might be able to win the Super Bowl.

Gordon’s reward outweighs the risk in a short term window. Those teams can afford that risk. The Browns can’t. They need players that can be counted on for the long haul. Gordon is a great rental option but no one wants to pay off that mortgage.

And the Browns have already been burned by Gordon multiple times. Joe Banner had a deal in place to trade Gordon before it was nixed by Jimmy Haslam, the team’s owner. Gordon has since been suspended two more times.

Nothing about Gordon says he is worth the long term investment, which is what the Browns need. Players they can build around as opposed to short term fixes. Be it a player or draft picks, whatever the Browns can get for Gordon should be part of that vision.

The Browns used four draft picks on wide receivers in the 2016 NFL Draft, knowing full well that Gordon could be reinstated in August. And that was without a suspension attached. If they were intent on keeping Gordon, they could’ve addressed any number of other positions that could use help with one or some of those picks.

The takeaway from that was that the Browns turned the page on Gordon. They wanted a player they could count on and Gordon has proven over and over he simply isn’t reliable. Out of 68 possible career games, Gordon has only played in 35 of them. He has been suspended for the other 33.

The last part of this situation is Hue Jackson. There will be arguments for keeping Gordon, suggesting that Jackson’s presence will keep in line.

Beyond the idea that Jackson is a miracle worker and would magically fix Gordon, based on nothing but reputation, Jackson is already facing the biggest challenge of his professional career in turning around the Cleveland Browns. He doesn’t need to be riding a unicycle and juggling chainsaws while he does it.

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The Browns may well keep Gordon into the preseason just to showcase him and remind teams just how good he is. After clearing that hurdle, the Browns should be looking to make the best possible deal with him and look to build around the players they plan to have for the future. This franchise simply cannot allow themselves to be held hostage by Gordon any longer. He’s part of their past and they need to be looking to the future.