4:16pm: Gordon can apply for reinstatement on August 1st, a source tells NFL.com’s Albert Breer (on Twitter). Gordon must show the league he is clean in all areas (drug tests, off-the-field behavior, etc.) if he hopes to be reinstated, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
3:57pm: Josh Gordon‘s petition for reinstatement has been denied by the NFL, as Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer writes. Gordon can apply for reinstatement later in the year. 
[RELATED: Josh Gordon Fails Drug Test]
On Monday we learned that Gordon failed a drug test administered by the NFL in March. Gordon was due to hear back about his application for reinstatement by March 20th but the failed test threw a wrench into things. Now, Gordon’s career will continue to remain in limbo until further notice.
Since his entry into the league in 2012, Gordon’s NFL career has been tumultuous to say the least. He missed the first two games of the 2013 season following a drug suspension, but then went on to lead the NFL in receiving yards, finishing with 87 receptions for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns. Gordon will celebrate his 25th birthday tomorrow.
Hopes were high for the 2014 season, but Gordon’s off-the-field issues resurfaced, as he was first arrested for DUI, and then suspended for one year after again violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. He was eventually reinstated after only 10 games as part of the NFL and the players’ union agreeing to a new drug policy, which reduced the sentences for some players-in-limbo. The Browns subsequently suspended Gordon for the final contest of the season after he reportedly violated team rules, and then a failed alcohol test resulted in the wideout’s ban of at least a year last February.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Such a waste of talent. Friggin moron
Just a phenomenal setback for a team riddled with trauma. Gordon’s tenuous status within the league coupled with the Browns’ rampant struggles in Round 1 have set this franchise back as far as just about anyone in recent memory. The Browns are as bereft of talent, especially after what took place in March, as anyone in football. There are so few players on the team who could start on a contending franchise.