Written by Nick Shook at NFL.com
Josh Gordon is getting yet another chance.
The Cleveland Browns receiver — who hasn’t played in a regular-season game since 2014 — is set to be reinstated on a conditional basis by the NFL, the league announced Wednesday.
“Effective immediately, Gordon may join the Browns to attend meetings, engage in conditioning work and individual workouts,” the league stated in a release. “Subject to compliance with clinical and other requirements, he will be placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt list and be permitted to practice with the team beginning on Monday, November 20. Beginning Monday, November 27, Gordon will be eligible at the team’s discretion to return to active status or to remain on the Commissioner’s Exempt list for an additional week before returning to active status.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell left the responsibility to remain eligible up to Gordon in his statement.
“As emphasized at today’s meeting, everyone — including Josh’s teammates and coaches, the Browns’ ownership and organization, the Program professionals and all of us at the league office — want him to have every opportunity to resume his career and to be successful in the NFL,” Goodell said. “Whether that happens, however, at the end of the day will depend on Josh. His commitment to sobriety and to reaching his goals in football and beyond will determine his success. It ultimately is up to Josh.”
Gordon’s last game came in Week 16 of the 2014 season, when the Browns fell to the Carolina Panthers 17-13. The receiver was suspended without pay for at least one year on Feb. 3, 2015, after he tested positive for alcohol, which violated the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse due to Gordon’s past DUI.
He was working toward a return in 2016, participating in training camp and Cleveland’s preseason. That never happened, as Gordon voluntarily checked himself into an in-patient rehabilitation facility in October to “gain full control of my life,” ending his chance of playing that season and adding another chapter to Cleveland’s frustration with the immensely talented player who had plenty of off-field struggles.
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