Dear Josh Gordon,
Why do you insist on this insanity? Why?
With regrets,
Your Fantasy Football Fans (and probably Cleveland fans, but they are too sad to even attempt reaching out)
Josh Gordon set the league of fire in 2013 by catching 87 passes for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns. Fantasy football owners from every corner of the globe bragged about landing this MVP player late in the draft due to his two game suspension. We felt like we all won, or we all lost if we played against him.
Here are some of his NFL records, just to rub salt in the wound:
- Most consecutive games, 200+ yards receiving: 2 (11/24/13, 237 yards; 12/01/13, 261 yards)
- Most receiving yards, two-game span: 504 yards (11/24/13, 237 yards; 12/01/13, 261 yards)
- Most receiving yards, three-game span: 665 yards (11/24/13, 237 yards; 12/01/13, 267 yards; 12/08/13, 151 yards)
- Most receiving yards, four-game span: 774 yards (11/17/13, 125 yards; 11/24/13, 237 yards; 12/01/13, 267 yards; 12/08/13, 151 yards)
Sadly, Gordon can’t keep it together when he steps off the field and is facing a season-long suspension due to failing his second drug test, this time for traces of marijuana. There is little chance of the suspension getting reduced to a point where you would feel comfortable drafting him to your fantasy team. The chances of lessening the punishment only became more slim when Gordon was ticketed over Memorial Day weekend for speeding (74 in a 60 mph zone) and a passenger in his Mercedes was issued a citation for possession of marijuana.
But let’s start at the beginning…
When the Browns selected Gordon in the second round of the supplemental draft Albert Breer, from nfl.com, reported that sources from four different NFL clubs claimed that Gordon failed three drug tests in college.
Most famously, during Gordon’s sophomore year in October 2010, he and teammate Willie Jefferson were found asleep at a local Taco Bell. Police found marijuana in Jefferson’s car. Jefferson was kicked off the team due to it being his second violation. Gordon was only suspended.
But then in July 2011, Gordon was suspended indefinitely for failing yet another drug test.
Gordon then transferred to Utah for his final year and allegedly failed yet another drug test.
During Gordon’s rookie year he stayed out of trouble and finished the 2012 season with 50 catches for 805 yards and five touchdowns.
Than in June of 2013 the league announced that Josh Gordon would serve a four game suspension. At the end of the debate, he had to sit out two games and play two games without pay. But at the time of this violation the league was very clear that another bad test would result in a season-long suspension.
Well, skip to now and we have a serious problem.
Tom Withers, sportswriter for the Associated Press, wrote a nice piece about Gordon’s uncertain future in the league. He also emphasized that Josh Gordon continues to show up everyday for Browns OTAs and acts as if he’s the starting wide receiver for the team.
“When he’s in the building, he’s great, and [he] has some issues, for whatever reason due to circumstances, when he’s out of the building. I’m not a stranger to situations like that, and I don’t think the rest of the staff is either.”
Mike Pettine, Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns
We wish Josh Gordon a bright future and we hope he finds the help he needs to continue his career. He’s only 23, so he certainly has time on his side. Maybe he should get with Chris Carter. After a very rocky beginning to his career, and a battle with addiction, Carter got it together and became a hall of famer. Cross your fingers, but you can safely rule him out in 2014.
