And while the Cleveland Browns management is denying the trade rumors surrounding Josh Gordon, the wide receiver is also trying to throw cold water on the reports.
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ESPN reported earlier this week multiple teams inquired about the availability of Gordon.
A Browns team source had told Schefter that the team was not looking to trade Gordon, but Brown’s comments Thursday were the first public comments from the organization on trade speculation around Gordon.
The Browns first-round pick has missed the first two preseason games nursing a hamstring injury. He is a proven game-changing talent that can be virtually unstoppable in the right environment.
In thee past, the Cleveland Browns were close to trading Josh Gordon to the San Francisco 49ers. Gordon could work as the third receiver once he returns.
One thing was made clear here in Tampa this week as the Browns returned nearly all of their wide receivers to the field.
He told the Akron Beacon Journal: “Listening [to trade offers] is probably a mischaracterization”.
A former second-round acquisition in the Supplemental Draft, Gordon had a fairly productive rookie season in 2012, catching 50 passes for 805 yards and five touchdowns.
Dealing Gordon could net the Browns some potential building blocks for the future.
There’s no reason for the Browns to trade Gordon low right now. We have a lot of guys that can do great things. Another violation would yield another indefinite suspension and could jeopardize the remainder of his playing career.
Over the past eight seasons the Browns have only averaged 16.8 points per game, and only eight times since the National Football League went to a 16-game schedule in 1978 have they managed to average more than 21 points a per game in a season. “So many guys can do different things”. The team now holds 10 in next year’s draft. We still have a couple days. Reports from the Browns training camp this week indicate that Gordon looks just as good as ever, and he is dominating cornerbacks in training camp and forming a unsafe tandem with converted wide receiver Terrelle Pryor.
Sure, the Browns might have future star receivers in Pryor and Coleman, but when’s the last time a team was upset at having too many quality playmakers?
But this is Cleveland, where hope always springs eternal, especially with the Browns … and most especially in preseason. “I think all of it was on display”, Jackson said. He appeared to be the next great receiver in the National Football League, only to be racked by suspensions. Haslam, the organization, coach (Hue) Jackson, I think the world of those guys, this city, this organization. “They’re family. They’re showing me the love and respect back to me by allowing me to stay here up to this point”.
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This makes the gamble of retaining Gordon an acceptable one. “The hotter the better because that’s the way it is going to be as we start during the (regular) season against Miami”. If the Browns ride the likes of Coleman and Pryor to a 4-0 record during Gordon’s suspension, they might reconsider their stance. Gordon is a surefire No. 1 receiver and likely would come at a great discount related to his value due to his history of trouble.
