Cleveland Browns: Josh Gordon's present and future

Josh Gordon’s return could be good for the Cleveland Browns, but they should take a longer view, both for him and themselves.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon has been conditionally reinstated by the NFL. And normally this is where I’d explain why I want nothing to do with the troubled receiver, but unlike every other time Gordon has returned from suspension, this time feels different, like Gordon genuinely is trying to rebuild his life. That is the reason the Browns should actually consider Gordon in their future.

Every other time Gordon has come back from suspension, I’ve listened to fans who want Gordon back on the field talk about his incredible talent and what he can do on the football field. It was never about Gordon the person, but Gordon the product. He’s there to entertain me, help my team win and the rest is immaterial.

As callous as that may be, it’s not unfair for fans to feel that way. Professional sports at its base is entertainment, so using Gordon or any other player for entertainment value and then moving on with one’s life is understandable, arguably reasonable.

That same feeling in many ways is why professional football continues and will continue to exist. It’s far easier to think of players as disposable to avoid having to evaluate what’s in one’s mind to enjoy brutality. It’s no different than how people can watch boxing, mixed martial arts and have been attracted to events like these dating back to the days of Roman gladiators.

Fans can think of Gordon as a disposable entity. The team can’t — well they can too, but shouldn’t. Gordon, like any other player, should be a person first and a player second. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen in the NFL enough, as shown by the NFL’s clear intentions to hide evidence about concussions, really dealing with player safety and the pain-killing drug, Toradol.

Nevertheless, Gordon’s talent and the public nature of his struggles have made it a big story, so it becomes a huge opportunity for the Browns to make something positive out of the situation. For a team maligned for doing so many things poorly, both warranted and not, this is a chance for them to help save a kid’s life first, then allow him to great things on the football field second.

Gordon has earned the opportunity to show himself, his teammates, the Browns as an organization and lastly and very much least the fans that he can not only keep his addiction in check, but be someone they can count on and ultimately be productive. He earned it by doing something he did not have to do when he bore his soul in multiple interviews he gave about his life.

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That’s what makes this situation different. There was a time when Gordon was suspended and his ‘apology’ amounted to dismissing it all as being 23 years old. Compare that now to a man laying everything out there for anyone to see. He finally owned everything he’s done and explained just how deep this issue goes and how long he’s been battling it.

Between his physique and his play on the field, Josh Gordon looks like a superhero. In many ways, people have treated him like he was indestructible, including himself. Peeling back the layers reveals someone dealing with an incredible amount of trauma that he’s been struggling with for over half of his life now.

I give Gordon an incredible amount of credit for what he was willing to do. Certainly, people can be suspicious that he simply wants to get back in the good graces of the NFL to get paid again, then he will revert back to old habits. Gordon, himself, likely wouldn’t blame anyone who does. And while that could certainly happen, Gordon went to some extreme lengths to get a short term fix. He wouldn’t be the first person dealing with addiction to go that far, but this is a side of Gordon no one has seen before, at least publicly.

I also don’t agree with the idea that because Gordon mentioned how coaches and football staff at Baylor worked to get him around drug tests is shifting the blame. Gordon has owned everything he’s done, but Baylor, again with Baylor, took someone’s child, knew or found out he had a significant problem and didn’t try to help him address it but instead tried to use him to help them and when he couldn’t, got rid of him.

Baylor is a cesspool when it comes to athletics and shouldn’t have any above the club level, but this isn’t a unique to Waco, TX. Other schools employ coaches in all kinds of sports where they tell parents and kids alike that they will take care of them, make them into better people, and then simply use them for their own ends. It’s good that Gordon highlighted what is a serious problem in college athletics and should be approached that way.

Gordon is a father of two children, both of which he unfortunately had to be ordered by the court to take paternity test to prove it. That fits in to the lack of responsibility that Gordon has shown as an adult. But if he truly took this seriously, the rehab and looked within himself, he may have found a man desperate to beat this for his children. Additionally, he may be trying to break the cycle, so that his kids don’t have to face the same struggles he has. Lastly, he may have realized that if he doesn’t stop, his football career is the least of what he’ll lose. He’ll lose his life.

The revelations about how he’s been treated by some in and around the city of Cleveland are reprehensible. I would like to think that Northeast Ohio would be a place that embraces its athletes and in some cases, it clearly is, in a way that can make people proud. The behavior outlined by Gordon, even if were exaggerated, shows the ugliest parts of pro sports, this area and we should all be ashamed.

DETROIT, MI – AUGUST 09: Josh Gordon #12 of the Cleveland Browns warms up prior to the start of the preseason game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on August 9, 2014 in Detroit, Michigan. The Lions defeated the Browns 13-12 in a preseason game. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

If Gordon comes to the decision that he is simply unable to play in Cleveland given what has happened to him here, I couldn’t blame him and I would encourage the Browns to facilitate a move him. As much as losing his talent might be frustrating, this is about his life.

And that’s the way the Browns need to treat this. Yes, they want him to be a productive player. Yes, they want him to hopefully regain the form he had in 2013 where he was one of the best receivers in the NFL. None of that matters if he loses himself in this again. And the Browns do not owe him this or anything else. They just should.

It’s good that Gordon is able to get back to the facility, take part in meetings, strength and conditioning, learn the playbook, things of that nature. Getting him back in a familiar routine could be immensely helpful for him. It gives him an outlet and a place where he can get out of his own head, give him a reason to feel positive and moving forward. In a few short weeks, Gordon will be allowed to practice and get more involved with the team. Easing him in as opposed to having him do everything all at once is beneficial.

As long as Gordon keeps to his program, he will be able to take the field again for the team Dec. 3 when the Browns take on the Los Angeles Chargers on the road. The Browns will be faced with a difficult choice: play him or not?

Obviously, the Browns can use his talent to help them win games and potentially salvage something at the end of what looks to be an ugly year in terms of the standings. And that’s what I expect to happen, especially if it’s up to Hue Jackson.

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If the Browns are simply looking to show him off for a potential trade in the offseason, playing him every single play of the last five games makes a ton of sense. And given everything he’s put this organization through, no one could blame them.

If the Browns are in this for the long haul, I wouldn’t play him a single down this year. Josh Gordon in 2017 doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s about 2018, 2019 and beyond. Gordon said he hasn’t played a professional game sober. I don’t want to put him a position where he’s inclined to do that again. And should Gordon go out and play at a high level, catch a bunch of passes and a few touchdowns, I worry about the position he’s put in after the game. There are any number of potential pitfalls for him that could be a major setback.

Gordon took his time to even apply for reinstatement, which might go to show both how seriously he is taking this. It also might mean that he didn’t want to rush into this, worrying understandably that he might fall back into old habits. The Browns can help with this by not rushing him out there. There are just eight weeks left in the regular season, which seems like a lot, but even if Gordon can’t play for the first three of them, it’s throwing him out there for the sake of throwing him out there.

Do right by the kid.

Let him get into a routine, get back to being a football player step by step, but not putting any undue pressure on him right now. Rather than basically trying to rush him into action in three weeks, take the next seven months to really let him try to get control of his life. Gordon has to prove to himself he can do this before he can prove it to his teammates, coaches or ownership. That’s easier said than done.

The offseason, training camp and then preseason becomes a fantastic way for him to ease himself into everything, show everyone including Josh, himself that he can do this. And the preseason isn’t a full on game, so it is just a little taste, building up into the regular season.

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If Gordon can do this and the Browns can facilitate it, the next seven months could be tremendous for him and his sobriety. That battle will rage on for the rest of his life, but with seven months worth of reps battling this under his belt, he’ll be in a position to focus on being a great football player and teammate. For now, he needs be a healthy adult first, good father second and productive football player in a distant third.

This then paves the way for Josh Gordon to be more than a player destined to be a comet that burns brightly for only a short amount of time where it becomes only a matter of time until he’s out of the league. Approaching this honestly and fully, Gordon could become a player the Browns can once again view as part of their future rather than part of their past. Josh Gordon, healthy productive adult, is the most important outcome in all of this, but the possibility exists for this to be good for both him and the Cleveland Browns and that’s something worth the effort.

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Cleveland Browns: Josh Gordon’s present and future

By Peter Smith | Nov 9, 2017

Josh Gordon’s return could be good for the Cleveland Browns, but they should take a longer view, both for him and themselves.

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