A lot has happened with the Browns since the end of the 2015 regular season.
They fired head coach Mike Pettine.
They fired just about all of his assistant coaches.
They fired General Manager Ray Farmer.
They fired most of their scouts and personnel people.
They failed to re-sign a lot of their free agents.
They released a number of their older players.
They released quarterback Johnny Manziel.
And wide receiver Josh Gordon may – or may not – have failed a drug test, depending upon whom you believe. In the very least, Gordon, who is currently under indefinite suspension by the NFL, appears to have wandered into a gray area.
Tell me when I mention something that has surprised you even in the least bit.
I’m waiting.
Still waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting some more.
That’s what I thought.
That’s what you guys thought, too, because you’re the best and smartest football fans in the world.
All of these “news” items were not really newsflashes at all. They were each the veritable freight train that could be heard coming down the tracks for a long, long, long time. Then, one by one, these trains finally arrived, to the astonishment of absolutely no one.
The “news” about Gordon – whatever it is now, or eventually turns out to be – was no different. In fact, it might have been the most obvious freight train of them all.
Did you really think – hold just the slightest bit of hope — even for a fleeting moment that Gordon was going to stay totally clean long enough to convince the NFL that he was finally on the right track and had merited being reinstated to play again for 2016? Of course you didn’t. No one did.
It’s unfortunate and sad – extremely so – to say that, but it’s the truth. Gordon, a 6-foot-3, 225-pounder whose tremendous combination of size, strength, speed and hands make him a match-up nightmare, is just about unstoppable on the football field, as evidenced by his 2013 season in which he had 87 receptions for an NFL-best and club-record 1,646 yards, for an average of 18.9 yards per catch, and nine touchdowns. It is the best season ever for a Browns receiver, no ifs, ands or buts about it.
Indeed, no one can stop Gordon – no one, that is, except for Gordon himself, as evidenced by his continued inability to distance himself from the substance abuse demons who bring him down. They always catch up to him –always.
As such, Gordon will go down in club history with the likes of the late Don Rogers, whom we mentioned Tuesday and will mention again in about 2½ months, Chip Banks, the late Ernie Davis and the late Don Fleming as the players whose Browns careers ended with the most untapped potential. As with these other players, people years from now will look back at Gordon’s career and wonder, “What if …?”
But the Browns can’t be doing that now, and they won’t. They smartly moved on from him long ago. This “news” on Gordon isn’t even a blip on their radar in terms of attracting their attention.
As Bill Belichick used to say when he was in Cleveland two decades ago, “As a player, your best ability is your availability.” Gordon has never been consistently available going all the way back to his college days. Like Manziel, he has always been one step ahead of trouble, and now trouble has caught up to both of them.
The Browns have too many other pressing issues. They don’t have even one second to concern themselves with problem players.
Sure, they’ll keep Gordon on the team, just in case a miracle happens and he straightens himself up for the long haul. As long as he remains suspended, his salary doesn’t count against the cap. It’s a no-risk, high-reward endeavor, but with basically no chance of ever paying off to any extent.
Again, though, the Browns’ main focus is on getting a quarterback in the NFL Draft in 15 days, because until they do that, they can have all ultra-talented players they want at the other position and they still won’t get to where they want to go.
