What Can Josh Gordon Do for Cleveland Browns Offense?

Josh Gordon has one of the best documented backgrounds of an NFL receiver with 161 receptions in the history of the sport. While there’s hype surrounding his 2016 return to the field, the receiver’s talent and record of ineligibility can hardly be matched by anyone in recent memory.

By the time the Cleveland Browns used a second-round pick to selection Gordon in the 2012 supplemental draft, he had already spent time at two college programs. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, Gordon first saw trouble at Baylor when he was arrested for marijuana at a Taco Bell—a charge which was eventually dropped.

Baylor head coach Art Briles, who was fired this past May for the mishandling of sexual assault allegations of his own players, afforded Gordon a chance to redeem himself, allowing him to play through the pending charge. It wasn’t until Gordon’s second strike, which Gordon told McClain was due to a failed drug test, that the wideout was suspended from the team:

It was due to a failed marijuana test. It was against school policy, of course, and I was (suspended) in the summer. I’ve definitely put that part of my life behind me. I don’t plan to ever go back there. It was a difficult time, but I learned from it, and I’ve moved on.

With the suspension being executed after the draft, Gordon elected to transfer to Utah rather than initially throwing his hat in the ring for the supplemental draft, but he would eventually declare for the alternative draft anyway. This could have been due to another failed drug test, as Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plains Dealer was able to get the wideout to admit he had a drug issue at his second stop in his college tour.

As a rookie in 2012, Gordon finished third in his draft class with 805 receiving yards and second in touchdowns with five, behind only T.Y. Hilton. For reference, Hilton is now on a $65 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts, while Gordon is in the last year of his rookie contract, making just slightly north of $1 million, should he finish the 2016 season on the Browns roster.

As a sophomore in the NFL, Gordon’s issue with substances popped up again, as he entered the year on a two-game suspension from a drug test which featured traces of codeine. Gordon told Cabot at the time his drug use wasn’t recreational, though, claiming he was using medicine prescribed to him, all while still apologizing to his teammates.

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Despite the setback, as just a 23-year-old, he led the NFL in receiving yards in 2013, locking up spots at the Pro Bowl and on the first-team All-Pro team. The narrative at that point in his career was as such: Hardly anyone could remember a receiver that talented at his age, but for him to reach a Randy Moss-like peak, he needed to stay clean, and he was just one strike away from missing an entire season.

The summer of 2014 was when that narrative tipped from “I hope he can stay on the field” to “he might need help.”

In July, Gordon was arrested for driving under the influence in North Carolina, when his blood alcohol level was at .09 at the time of his arrest. In August, it was confirmed Gordon would miss the entire season for another failed drug test due to marijuana.

With a change in the league’s drug policy in September of that year, though, Gordon’s suspension was then dropped to a 10-game ban, allowing him to play about the last third of the season. He had 303 receiving yards and no touchdowns in his five-game stretch …

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