Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, who has not played since 2014, is applying for reinstatement Wednesday, his business manager said.
“Josh is living with me and is in the best place mentally that he has been in dating back years before entering the NFL,” Michael Johnson said. “He has taken the proper steps to treat his issues and has followed a very strict protocol that the league and our team here has laid out for him.
“He’s also in the best shape of his life and feels even better than he did when he had his breakout year in 2013. This will be a special year for Josh and we are all very proud of the way he has taken the necessary steps to turn his life around.”
Gordon spent 30 days in a New Hampshire rehab facility in October.
The Browns have made it clear they are moving on without Gordon, who was suspended for the entire 2015 season for multiple violations of the NFL’s substance abuse policies.
Gordon’s off-field issues began in college. The talented yet troubled wideout was dismissed from the teams at Baylor and Utah for failing drug tests. The Browns selected him in the second round of the 2012 supplemental draft.
The NFL suspended Gordon for 10 games in 2014 for violating the substance abuse policy, and the Browns suspended him for the season finale for missing the final walk-through the day before. The NFL also suspended him for two games in 2013 for violations of the substance abuse policy.
The Browns welcomed Gordon back after the 2015 suspension, but they also drafted four receivers and gave ex-quarterback Terrelle Pryor a full look at the position.
“We’ve really been focused, to be honest – until we saw some of the reports recently – on the guys that are on the roster,” said Sashi Brown, vice president of football operations. “On occasion I would check in with Josh and we would … just personally because we care for the young man. But beyond that we really really haven’t sat down to talk about what it would be like if he gets back in.”
In 2013, Gordon’s second year in the league, he had 87 catches for a league-leading 1,646 yards, but he played in only five games the next season.
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