Upon returning from a 17-month suspension when the National Football League reinstated Gordon just days before the start of training camp, he was hampered by a quadriceps injury, one that kept him out of practice for much of the last three weeks of on-field work.
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“You don’t see too many DBs over 6-2”, Gordon said.
The Browns stuck with Gordon throughout his 2015 banishment and welcomed him back when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated him July 25.
Friday’s game will be the Browns’ third of the preseason, which is known as the preseason game where the starters play the most. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has stuck by Gordon throughout his suspension, and new head coach Hue Jackson seems to want to maximize Gordon’s potential as a player. “They’re not looking at my past and I’m not trying to look back toward that”. I’m excited about it.
Jackson, after watching the receiver practice, was seemingly glad to have made that decision.
Gordon caught Griffin’s first pass of team drills, and Pryor added a few other receptions. He led the league with 1,646 receiving yards in 2013, but he only played five games the following season due to a suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. “I’m confident in my abilities”, Gordon said. “I think all three groups were doing a really good job running the ball”.
Meanwhile, Gordon himself told reporters he wants to make things right in Cleveland for an organization that never jettisoned him despite the fact that would have been the more expedient and public-relations savvy thing to do.
“There’s a lot of fish in the tank, and it’s up to us to feed them the right way”, Griffin said. “I know he’ll be ready when he steps out there”.
But thanks to a careful and measured recovery process, Coleman said he’s healthy and eager to return to the field. Which is why the Browns should absolutely look to trade him while he still has value.
Among the teams who are reportedly reaching out to get Gordon is the 49ers who earlier tried to acquire the player in 2014.
But in the meantime, he’s just happy to be able to practice again.
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“I think it works out perfectly then for me”, he said. “But they’ve come this far with the guy, I don’t see them giving him away now”. Coleman has been battling a hamstring issue that sidelined him for the first two preseason games.
