This is where Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon could come into play.
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Gordon, who has been suspended for 27 of Cleveland’s 32 games over the past two seasons and suspended four times in his pro career, believes he can now stay on a straight path. The 25-year-old would not confirm if he’s been in rehab.
Gordon is permitted to practice and play in all preseason games, but he is suspended for the first four regular season games.
Jackson, executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown and chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta met with the media on Thursday before players went through their conditioning drills. Gordon also praised Hall of Fame running back and Browns special adviser Jim Brown for his help in the past months, and said several other National Football League players had reached out to him – though he did not specify who.
“If the message from Josh and the pledge wasn’t consistent with what we want to see from him, we would have made a different decision”, Brown said.
Gordon is permitted to practice and play in all preseason games, but he is nursing a quadriceps injury and will be sidelined for about two weeks.
“I have to be very clear from where I stand with the players, and the coaches for that matter”. The league also has requirements Gordon must meet; another failed drug test means another immediate suspension.
Gordon (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) showed how powerful those gifts can be with a league-high and franchise-record 1,646 receiving yards in 14 games in 2012.
Josh Gordon claims he has grown a lot over the past year.
In the time between the last minicamp and the start of training camp, Griffin worked with throwing guru Tom House.
“Oh yeah, we have to”, Jackson said during his inaugural training camp press conference.
Now, Gordon’s case is an individual one, one that included lobbying by Brown himself to Goodell. I made a mistake in posting that picture and I wish I could take it back. Griffin and Gordon were teammates at Baylor from 2009-2010. I think he knows that.
The Browns are counting on it, and they intend to hold Gordon accountable for his actions. Obviously, the Eagles traded many draft picks to the Browns in order to land Wentz, so it might be questionable as to whether they can readily pull off yet another trade with Cleveland. “I know that our staff and our players are going to do that and that’s pretty important to me”. Gordon said he had taken the steps necessary “to better myself as a person off the field just as much as on”.
Hue Jackson hasn’t named a starting quarterback since being hired as Browns coach in January, and he didn’t make a grand proclamation about the job after the initial practice.
And while Griffin said he’s not dwelling about the past, he said he comes to Berea having grown as a quarterback and a person.
NOTES: Haden, who underwent offseason ankle surgery, is confident he’ll be ready for the season opener.
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“It gives us a sense of direction and the way he’s headed”, McCown said.
