Browns releasing receiver Gordon
CLEVELAND — Josh Gordon’s troubled tenure with the Cleveland Browns has ended.
The team isn’t going to help him any longer. He’s again on his own.
The Browns announced Saturday night that they intend to release the former Pro Bowl wide receiver, whose immense talent has been overshadowed by substance abuse that has derailed a promising career.
The stunning news came just hours after the Browns said Gordon would miss Sunday’s game in New Orleans with a hamstring injury. Gordon has been suspended by the NFL for most of the past four seasons because of multiple drug violations, and the Browns have been supportive of the 27-year-old for years as he tried to get his life together. Not anymore. “This afternoon we informed Josh Gordon and his representatives that we are going to release him on Monday,” general manager John Dorsey said in a statement. “For the past six years, the Browns have fully supported and invested in Josh, both personally and professionally and wanted the best for him, but unfortunately we’ve reached a point where we feel it’s best to part ways and move forward. We wish Josh well.”
The team provided no specifics about what prompted their decision to part ways with Gordon.
Gordon was in the league’s substance-abuse program and if he failed another drug test, he could be facing more discipline.
Gordon missed three weeks of training camp this summer to undergo counseling and treatment, and he recently said he was in a good place mentally and physically.