Josh Gordon announced over the weekend that he has rejoined the Cleveland Browns after leaving as part of his ongoing treatment program, which gives the star wide receiver three weeks to prepare for the start of the regular season. However, he is not a lock to play in Week 1.
During a conference call with reporters on Saturday, Browns head coach Hue Jackson would not commit to Gordon being ready for the start of the regular season.
“There’s a chance,” Jackson said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “Obviously, we’re just going to take it one step at a time. His focus is going to be on meetings and conditioning, and then we’ll just kind of go from there. Hopefully, we can get him up and running by the first game.”
Jackson’s remarks were similar to the ones made by Browns GM John Dorsey, who said Gordon will ease back in and resume all football activities when “deemed appropriate.”
The fact that Gordon has returned several weeks before the start of the season is certainly a good sign, as there was no timetable for when he would be back at one point. There were also rumors that he may have been facing possible disciplinary action from the NFL, but that is not the case.
It’s still unclear if there was a specific event that inspired Gordon to take some time off, though there has been plenty of speculation. The Browns hosted Dez Bryant for a visit during Gordon’s absence, but Jackson has insisted the team’s interest in the free agent wide receiver has nothing to do with Gordon’s status.
