Josh Gordon has failed another drug test.
Are you surprised?
Really?
Are you?
If Gordon's suspension proves true, and there's no reason to believe that it's not, it will be his fourth suspension as an NFL player in three years, and third by the NFL. The Browns recently suspended Gordon for the final game of the 2014 season after showing up late...again...for the Saturday morning walkthrough.
Browns WR Josh Gordon flunked another drug test and now will be subject to a one-year banishment, per league sources. More on ESPN @ 6 pm.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 25, 2015
I haven't even mentioned his suspensions in college, which included both an offseason suspension, as well as his ultimate demise at Baylor, when he was kicked of the team...for pot.
That's six suspension in five years.
Does anyone see a pattern here?
You have to wonder if there's more to that end-of-the-year suspension than meets the eye. Both the Gordon camp and the Browns have been suspiciously quiet on the situation, although it could simply be a moratorium on the playoffs and the Super Bowl. That's simply speculation, but I think the Browns knew what was coming, and so did Gordon.
And here we are.
Another drug violation.
Where does Gordon fit now in the labyrinth of NFL drug violation rules? As part of the new drug policy passed this past September, Gordon's 2014 suspension was cut from 16 games (under the old policy) to ten games.
In cases involving drug suspensions and/or marijuana, the next suspension for Gordon would be a one-year banishment. Of course, we have no clue what the "drug violation" is, what the threshold of the drug was (if marijuana), or what Gordon's lawyers will do, since Gordon was in the middle of his myriad of suspensions when the new policy went into effect.
At this point, who cares.
Josh Gordon is an idiot, and no longer should be a member of the Cleveland Browns.
I believe in people. I believe in second chances. I believe in third and fourth and fifth chances. I believe in doing whatever it takes to get someone right.
But you really can't fix dumb. You can put a process in place, and I'm sure that the Browns have done that (although you have to wonder), you can put that mistake-prone player into that process, but ultimately, you can't control what a grown man does with his free time.
Call it culture.
Call it "the only thing he knows."
Or call it what it is...
DUMB.
In some ways, perhaps this was a fit made in heaven. There's been a lot of dumb in Cleveland over the years, from ownership to front office to coaching to players. But it's time to start making good football decisions, regardless of talent.
Sometimes, you just have to rip the band-aid off. This is one of those times.
Jimmy Haslam needs to cut him, and cut him today. While it would be nice for the Cleveland Browns to have a superstar at receiver, it's not a necessity. The receiving corp was pretty good Before Josh Gordon. It was really bad After Josh Gordon, at least in 2015. In Andrew Hawkins and Taylor Gabriel, the Browns have a nice foundation at receiver, and while Gordon was the superior athlete, he clearly has turned himself into an on-and-off-the-field cancer that this team no longer should deal with.
They sure as hell don't need a prima donna, especially one that drags down the rest of a club that just can't seemingly find it's way.
So please, Jimmy Haslam, cut him now. I don't want to hear about how you are going to stand behind Gordon. You've already done that. I don't want to hear about how he's a Browns' player for life, because he's not really been much a Browns' player when he wasn't suspended. What I want to hear is that the Browns' organization is turning a new page, a page of stability, where it's team first, and not what you do on your weekends.
No, in Gordon we aren't talking about a maximum security inmate here, but we are talking about a million dollar talent with a five-cent head. I want him to succeed in life, but it's becoming abundantly clear that right now, the NFL life isn't for him.
Let the NFL deal with Gordon. Let them figure out how to fix him. Let the billions and billions of dollars that flow through their New York City offices take care of whatever is broke in Gordon's head.
He shouldn't be a Cleveland problem anymore, not with the Browns, and not in Cleveland.
This team has been a laughingstock for the past 15 seasons. Now is the time to use a really bad situation, and turn the corner. Tell Josh Gordon, and the rest of the team, that if you can't learn from your mistakes, you can become another team's, or another career's problem.
Are you paying attention Johnny Manziel?
Yeah, I doubt it.
(I realize that there may be NFLPA rules that keep the Browns from making a move now or in the near future, but the second Haslam has clearance to send Gordon on his way, do it. It's time for this organization to make sound football decisions, and getting rid of this guy is one of them)
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