Josh Gordon‘s status for the season opener remains unclear, but the wide receiver is about to take an important step forward. Gordon will begin participating in the Browns’ walkthrough portion of practice, coach Hue Jackson told reporters on Friday. 

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Recently, Jackson expressed optimism that Gordon will be ready to go for Week 1. Gordon’s walkthrough participation guarantees nothing, but it’s an indicator that he is not far off from full participation in practice and, eventually, the season opener against the Steelers.

Gordon returned to the Browns last week after taking part in a health and treatment plan. While the league is monitoring his progress, they have not placed any restrictions on when Gordon can get resume all football activities with the club.

Gordon is an integral part of the Browns’ offense and the Browns are desperately hoping that he’ll get on the right path this year. The uncertainty surrounding Gordon led the Browns to consider Dez Bryant, but a deal seems unlikely, so having Gordon in uniform is now more important than ever.

After Josh Gordon‘s much-anticipated return to the Browns yesterday, Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson expressed his hope that Gordon will be ready to go when the team opens up the regular season against the division-rival Steelers on September 9. Jackson said, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, “There’s a chance. Obviously, we’re just going to take it one step at a time. His focus is going to be on meetings and conditioning, and then we’ll just kind of go from there. Hopefully, we can get him up and running by the first game.”

As we learned yesterday, Gordon was placed on the active/non-football injury list, which means that he can start practicing as soon as the Browns’ medical team gives him the green light. Until that happens, he can attend meetings and conditioning sessions, but if he is going to play in Week 1, he obviously needs to return to the practice field as soon as possible (though Jackson expressed his belief that Gordon developed sufficient chemistry and understanding of the offense in OTAs and minicamp).

Interestingly, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes that the league has plenty of say as to when Gordon will make a full return. He writes that, while many reporters have “parroted” the notion that the process has been controlled by a proactive Gordon, this tweet from Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, which quotes NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, suggests otherwise. The tweet says that, since Gordon is still in the league’s substance abuse program, he needs to meet certain conditions before playing, and then it quotes McCarthy as saying, “this [is} part of the process. Can attend meeting, do conditioning. Can go to practice, but not participate. No timetable on next step.”

Florio says it’s clear that Gordon’s ability to practice and to play will be subject to league approval, which means that something happened during Gordon’s treatment plan that triggered his absence in the first place. If Gordon truly did keep himself out of training camp, Florio says he would have been instantly reinstated with no restrictions of any kind upon his return.

The way this situation has played out not only suggests that the league has been directly involved, per Florio, but that the NFL is also realizing that overly-aggressive application of its substance abuse policy is not helpful to either the player or the league. Instead, it appears that the NFL has opted to work with Gordon in this case instead of running him out of the league — another misstep on Gordon’s part would result in at least another year-long suspension — which jibes with a piece from Tony Grossi of ESPN 850 WKNR, who says that commissioner Roger Goodell has been sympathetic to Gordon since the two men had a face-to-face meeting last November.

Grossi also opines that, since the Browns have finally upgraded their receiving corps, Gordon may need the team more than the team needs him for the first time in their tumultuous history together, which may be the motivation he needs to stay on the right track.

Jackson, though, made no guarantees that Gordon is back for good. He said, “I’m confident that he’s here. That’s the most important part. How long he stays, only Josh knows that, but he’s in a much better place. I think all those things, as you guys know, are always fluid. That’s always a concern, but at the same time, we’re here to support, help and try to create the right environments for Josh.”

Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon did not fail a drug test this offseason, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports. There were previous rumblings that Gordon did not directly violate the league’s substance abuse policy, but this is the first confirmation that we have heard. 

Because Gordon didn’t fail a test, no suspension is anticipated once he returns. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll be in uniform for Week 1. Gordon is still in Florida as he works on his mental and physical health, Cabot writes, so he’ll need the go-ahead from his NFL-sanctioned medical team before getting back to football.

Still, the Browns remain optimistic about Gordon’s future and they plan to stick with him as he works towards a full recovery. The club is keeping in contact with Gordon, but at the same time, they’re considering Dez Bryant as insurance.

Over the course of his up-and-down career, Gordon has appeared in 40 games and recorded 179 receptions for 3,089 yards and 15 touchdowns. In 2013, he led the league with 1,646 receiving yards.

Although the Browns had planned to move wide receiver Josh Gordon from the did not report list to the non-football injury list in order to preserve his 2019 free agent status, a closer inspection of league rules revealed Cleveland didn’t need make any sort of Gordon-related transaction, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Based on a general reading of the rule, Gordon’s contract should have tolled this week because he didn’t report to the Browns 30 days prior to the start of the regular season. In order to prevent that mechanism, Cleveland was set to transfer him to the NFI list in something of a goodwill gesture.

However, the NFL’s rule regarding the NFI list contains an exception for players who have not reported due to “hardship or illness,” per Rapoport. Therefore, Gordon will accrue a season toward free agency regardless of when he shows up.

Because of various league-imposed suspensions, Gordon is still only on schedule to become a restricted free agent following the 2018 campaign (despite the fact that he originally entered the league in 2012). Cleveland will have the option to tender him as a RFA next spring, either at the first-, second-, or original-round level.

The Browns have been vague about the schedule for Gordon’s return, but fellow Cleveland wideout Rashard Higgins says Gordon is in “good spirits.” Gordon, who has dealt with alcohol and drug problems in the past, is reportedly working through mental health issues.

The Browns are expected to move Josh Gordon from the “did not report” list to the non-football injury (NFI list) by Tuesday, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The move will prevent Gordon from losing an accrued season toward free agency while he’s tending to his health.

The good news here is that Gordon is reportedly getting closer to making his return. There’s no timetable for Gordon to come back, but teammate Rashard Higgins is optimistic after speaking with Gordon recently.

“We were texting [Friday]. He’s in good spirits,” Higgins said. “We don’t talk about anything about the field or anything. We just talk about, ‘Hey, what’s up bro? How you doing?’ We’re not too concerned. We know Josh is handling his business off the field. When he comes back, he’ll be ready to go.”

In theory, the Browns could have prevented Gordon from becoming a restricted free agent until after the 2019 season (at the earliest) and from being eligible for unrestricted free agency until after the 2020 campaign. By taking this measure, the Browns will leave the door open for Gordon to be an RFA next March.

Gordon would have taken his first trip through free agency by now if not for his past troubles. As a selection in the 2012 supplemental draft, Gordon should have hit the open market after the 2015 season after completing his four-year rookie contract. Although he missed out on some serious cash, he could be able to take advantage of the booming wide receiver market down the line if he stays clean.

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that Josh Gordon is getting closer to returning to the Browns, though there is still no definitive timetable. She says he will not be back with the team by August 7, but the Browns are not going to let that hurt his free agent status, as the team wants him to focus on his long-term health and well-being (Twitter links). As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk observes, if Gordon does not report to the team by August 7, the Browns could keep him from becoming a restricted free agent until after the 2019 season (at the earliest) and from being eligible for unrestricted free agency until after the 2020 campaign, but it does not sound as if Cleveland will exercise that right. So, if he does eventually suit up as expected, Gordon could become a restricted free agent next March.

Gordon’s teammate and fellow Browns receiver Rashard Higgins says that Gordon is in good spirits, and Higgins does not believe that Gordon’s absence will impact his play when he ultimately returns to the team. Higgins said, per Tony Grossi of ESPN 850 WKNR, “We were texting [Friday]. He’s in good spirits. We don’t talk about anything about the field or anything. We just talk about, ‘Hey, what’s up bro? How you doing?’ We’re not too concerned. We know Josh is handling his business off the field. When he comes back, he’ll be ready to go.”

Although that may sound like the optimistic take of a friend and teammate, Cabot’s report suggests that there may be something to what Higgins is saying. Plus, as Grossi writes, Browns GM John Dorsey has not added a veteran receiver like Dez Bryant or Brandon LaFell — even though he said he would when Gordon did not report for the first day of training camp — and social media images of Gordon working out in Gainesville, Florida have been more prevalent in the past few days.

Of course, there is still a chance that commissioner Roger Goodell could impose yet another ban on Gordon when he does come back, but Cabot’s report is a positive development just the same. On paper, the Browns have one of their most talented rosters in recent memory, and their top receiving trio of Gordon, Corey Coleman, and Jarvis Landry is a big part of that. In light of Coleman’s injury difficulties, which have already cropped up again, Gordon’s availability is especially critical.