Cleveland Browns fans are still holding out hope that Josh Gordon may be allowed to return to the team in 2017, but it does not appear that is anywhere close to happening.
While speaking at a fan forum in Cleveland on Thursday, Goodell said Gordon’s reinstatement is “not under active consideration.” TThat essentially means NFL officials have not even considered lifting Gordon’s indefinite ban. Or, as Goodell put it, anything pertaining to Gordon’s reinstatement “hasn’t made it to my desk yet.”
Gordon got Browns fans excited earlier this month when he sent the following tweet:
God is GREAT..
— Flash Gordon (@JOSH_GORDONXII) August 4, 2017
As many assumed, that obviously had nothing to do with Gordon having his suspension lifted.
Gordon was already denied reinstatement once back in May. He was set to return from a four-game suspension at the start of last season when he checked himself into rehab due to continued struggles with alcohol use. He failed multiple drug tests for marijuana while in college at Baylor, and the issue continued in the NFL, where he has violated the league’s substance abuse policy on multiple occasions. Gordon was arrested in 2014 for driving while impaired and has been suspended more than once. Interestingly enough, he checked himself into a rehab facility the same day he received the results of a paternity test he was nearly arrested over.
It remains unclear if we will see Gordon at any point during the upcoming season.
