Cleveland Browns wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (18) runs the ball against the Detroit Lions during a preseason NFL football game at Ford Field in Detroit, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014.
A year-long suspension levied against Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Gordon last week eliminated one of the NFL’s premier playmakers. It also delivered a serious blow to the Browns’ playoff hopes this year. But Cleveland saw this coming—and perhaps Gordon did, too.
His love affair with marijuana is a relationship in which he’s been entrenched for quite some time, since his college days as a Baylor Bear. Despite a record of drug-related offenses and penalties, Gordon blazed ahead like a man with a squeaky-clean rap sheet.
Following a record-setting 2013 campaign—despite missing two games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy—Gordon’s future appeared bright. You would think a player who arrived to the NFL via the supplemental draft; and who was on the verge of making a big mark in the league, would be on his best behavior as he tried to secure a big payday, but not Gordon. A DUI charge in July only added to Gordon’s substance abuse issues that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and his staff were already reviewing. Again, you would think a player whose off-field activities were already under review would exercise a little more discretion. Again, not Gordon. It’s clear that Gordon just doesn’t get it at this point.
Gordon, a 6-foot, 3-inch, 225-pound sculpture at wideout, has the makeup to be the best receiver in the league. His incredible hands, deceptive speed and a knack for making huge plays—as evidenced by his back-to-back 200-yard receiving games last season, an NFL record—landed Gordon in the new elite class of 20-something receivers along with Calvin Johnson, A.J. Green and Dez Bryant. But before he could capitalize on that opportunity, he smoked it away. There’s something to be said about a player, or anybody for that matter, who keeps squandering huge opportunities for a quick hit. Gordon’s year-long suspension prohibits him from being present in any NFL or Browns facility, a move that could have disastrous results. Still only 23 years old, Gordon’s affinity for trouble couldn’t be more dangerous; with a year to himself, things could get worse before they get better for Gordon.
Gordon could turn into the modern-day Cris Carter and rejuvenate his career, and life, into a Hall of Fame caliber performance. Or he could crumble, as so many drug addicts have before him. Gordon’s talents are undeniable. But such talents when coupled with his off-the field actions make him an impenetrable mystery. We want Gordon to do well, help resuscitate the Browns franchise, make big plays and power fantasy football leagues. But for a guy who can’t seem to put the lighter away, even the brightest future can turn into a dark nightmare. Gordon’s one-year ban seems brutally harsh to some. But when it comes to a player who’s actions continue to defy drug policies and place his freedom and career on the line, why should we even care where Gordon goes from here—particularly if he doesn’t?
