Cleveland Browns Should Not Trade Josh Gordon

By Zac Wassink | Jul 15, 2015

The hot summer months bring with them the hot takes from National Football League analysts and fans who have little better to do while waiting for training camps to open than to address certain issues and even spark a controversy or two while killing time and enjoying a little National Basketball Association Summer League action. Today’s subject matter is the much-maligned banned Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, who is not doing much of note these days.

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You may remember Josh Gordon from when he notched 87 catches, over 1,600 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns during the 2013 NFL regular season. Perhaps you recall Gordon being accused of driving while under the influence, or the time that Gordon was again accused of driving while under the influence. Maybe you have memories of Gordon being suspended, or Gordon being suspended for a longer period of time, or Gordon being banned from all NFL activities for at least an entire year.

Mary Kay Cabot of the Northeast Ohio Media Group addressed the Gordon issue while answering a fan question for her July 3 column: “…if (Gordon) can make it back into the league after this season, they will likely consider trading him. He would have to convince the Browns that he wouldn’t get suspended again, and I still think they’d still be skeptical. Remember, this regime didn’t draft him and the leash has all but run out.”

Insert the fire emoji here as you see fit.

It is easy to understand why anybody within the Browns would be frustrated with Gordon. He has not played an entire 16-game season since 2012, his first year in the NFL. Gordon seemingly does not understand that a player who gets popped for smoking marijuana cannot afford to use the drug at any point of the year so long as he wants to make money playing pro football in the United States, and his inability to utilize the Uber app on multiple occasions is enough to make fans throw things.

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What has to be remembered about Gordon is that he is not a great player. He is a once-in-a-generation talent who has rightfully so been compared with Calvin Johnson as it pertains to talent and physical skills. Listed at 6-3 and 225 pounds when in playing shape, Gordon is routinely the best athlete on the field during games. His performances against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars back in 2013 were two of the best outings you will ever see from any NFL wide receiver; ever.

Gordon’s worth to the Browns is undefinable only because he is nothing to the NFL as of July 14, 2015. You, – yes, you! – literally have a better chance of stepping onto a football field during a regular season game than does Gordon between now and the next Super Bowl, after which the 24-year old may or may not be reinstated by the league depending on how he lives his life over the next seven months. No team is offering anything of merit for Gordon’s services in the foreseeable future.

Take the New York Giants as just one example. Odell Beckham Jr. is being advertised as the next great NFL wide receiver. Victor Cruz may never be the same coming off of a serious and gruesome knee injury. Eli Manning is about to enter the twilight of his career and is also about to sign his last Giants contract. It would make all kinds of sense for Big Blue to offer a sixth- or even a seventh-round pick for Gordon come next spring if he is eligible to return to the NFL at that time.

Why on earth would the Browns even entertain accepting that deal?

Take Gordon’s talent and his knucklehead tendencies out of the conversation for a moment. The Browns possess Gordon’s rights for no fewer than 12 NFL months, which will theoretically run from March 2016 through March 2017. His cap hit, per the terms of his current contract, will be under $1.7 million for what will be the last season of his deal. That is less than the going rate for a veteran backup quarterback these days.

It is also worth noting that Gordon is not a heinous criminal. He did not strike a significant other nor did he abuse a child. Heck, even his last D.W.I. was more silly and dumb than it was reckless. Gordon is currently barred from participating in NFL activities because he, some teammates and even a coach did not know that Gordon was not allowed to consume alcoholic beverages during a postseason vacation all because some NFL rules are downright ridiculous.

Gordon is going to want to ball out whenever he is again able to play a meaningful NFL down, and not because of some sense of duty or loyalty to the Browns. He is going to get paid and in a big way if he proves that he can stay off of suspension lists and be one of the best overall offensive weapons in the league. Some franchise, either the Browns or another team, will give millions of (non-guaranteed) money to Gordon in 2017 if that scenario does play out.

Gordon is often compared with Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Cris Carter in that Carter also battled personal demons in the early days of his NFL career. Some have suggested that Gordon, like Carter before him, may need a change of scenery to turn his life around. Such a switch did wonders for Carter, but all it meant for the Philadelphia Eagles was the team losing a man who became one of the greatest wide receivers in the history of the NFL.

One of these things will happen so long as the Browns retain Gordon through the end of his contract: Gordon will again get suspended en route to becoming a NFL afterthought. Gordon will be lackluster for the Browns in 2016, and the two sides will part ways the following winter. Gordon will light it up for the Browns in 2016, and some fascinating contract negotiations will follow. Trading or cutting Gordon before his deal runs out in no way benefits the Browns.

So don’t do it.

Next: Are Browns fans really the worst?

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