Josh Gordon has been reinstated by the NFL. However, it remains to be seen whether the Browns want him back. In a statement released on Thursday, top exec Sashi Brown announced that the team will meet with the wide receiver. 

“We’ve been informed of the league’s decision to reinstate Josh,” said Brown, the team’s executive vice president of football operations. “The personal well-being of all our players is of the utmost importance to us. We respect and commend Josh for taking the steps necessary to have the opportunity to return to the league. Josh will be in our building in the coming days and we look forward to having him back and sitting with him to discuss his future on our team.”

The Browns aren’t committing to anything just yet, but it sounds like they’re at least open to the possibility of allowing Gordon to rejoin the team. The wide receiver has been a pain to deal with – to say the least – but the 0-8 Browns are not in a position to turn away a player of his caliber.

If he is to be allowed back in the building, Gordon will have to demonstrate that his days of drug abuse are behind him. It was once believed that Gordon was dealing with only a proclivity for marijuana. We now know that he has been battling much more serious demons.

Roger Goodell reinstated Josh Gordon on Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). He can rejoin the Browns on a conditional basis, being now transferred to the commissioner’s exempt list.

A potential Gordon return will be a gradual process, but counter to what’s transpired on this front for most of the past three years, the mercurial wideout has a near-future path back to the field. Gordon can attend meetings immediately while participating in individual workouts. He can begin practicing on November 20, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (on Twitter) before being eligible for activation on November 27.

This would put Gordon in position to be eligible to play from Week 13-17 for the Browns, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Browns can keep him on the commissioner’s exempt list for another week before deciding whether or not to activate the 26-year-old pass-catcher. Gordon has not played in an NFL game since the 2014 season, but he’s at least on track to be eligible for one come December.

Gordon met with Goodell on Wednesday in New York after being denied reinstatement in May, and the Browns — who have wavered to some degree on the talented but troubled wide receiver — are ready to take him back.

“We’ve been informed of the league’s decision to reinstate Josh,” Browns executive VP Sashi Brown said (via Schefter, on Facebook). “We respect and commend Josh for taking the steps necessary to have the opportunity to return to the league. Josh will be in our building in the coming days and we look forward to having him back and sitting with him to discuss his future on our team.”

Gordon has been suspended indefinitely without pay since September of 2016, when he was set to return to the Browns after a four-game suspension. But a rehab stay instead followed after a relapse, and Gordon’s NFL future was in doubt. He’s been training this offseason with former Olympic sprinter Tim Montgomery in hopes of receiving another chance.

A first-team All-Pro in 2013 after recording one of the greatest receiving seasons in NFL history, Gordon has been plagued by substance abuse. He was suspended for 10 games in 2014 and for the entire 2015 season. A four-game ban last season was set to precede a return for his age-25 campaign, but the relapse scuttled that.

This offseason, Brown said the team is not in a strong enough position to turn away a player like Gordon. Hue Jackson said last season the team was moving on from Gordon but changed his tune to some degree this year. While Gordon’s been dangled in trade rumors, the deadline having passed means the Browns cannot get anything for him until the offseason. This puts the 2012 supplemental draft pick in a position to play for the first time in three years.

The 0-8 Browns may have the worst wideout situation in football, with their Kenny Britt investment working out about as well as the 2015 Dwayne Bowe signing. Corey Coleman remains on IR with a broken hand, and the auxiliary-type talents the team took in the 2016 draft after Coleman have not panned out. Of course, Cleveland has received poor quarterback play.

Gordon, though, recorded nearly 1,700 receiving yards in 2013 despite the likes of Brian Hoyer and Brandon Weeden throwing passes his way.

Due to the many suspensions, Gordon still has two years remaining on his rookie contract. He’s attached to a $1.1MM base salary, which he would only receive a portion of due to the prospective late-season return. What transpires if he returns to the field in December could determine how the Browns proceed with him in the offseason.

1:39pm: Gordon’s meeting with the NFL is scheduled for Wednesday, not today, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. This means that Gordon will not be reinstated before this afternoon’s trade deadline.

12:59pm: Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon will meet with the league office in New York City on Tuesday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Schefter adds that the Browns could trade his rights today if he is reinstated. 

The Browns have waffled a bit when it comes to Gordon. Earlier this year, coach Hue Jackson indicated that the team would be moving on from the troubled wide receiver. Then, as the season approached, he seemed to soften that stance. Right now, it sounds like the Browns are intent on turning Gordon into draft capital if he is allowed back into the league.

In order for Gordon to earn reinstatement, he’ll have to show that he has made significant changes to his lifestyle. For some time, it was believed that Gordon was suspended due to marijuana use. Recently, he opened up about the full scope of his issues, including the misuse of Xanax, cocaine, codeine, and prescription cough syrup.

Gordon has not played since the end of the 2014 season. He had 24 catches for 303 yards in the final five games of that campaign. In 2013, he secured First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors when he hauled in 87 receptions for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns.

Josh Gordon is looking to get clean from more than just marijuana. In a new mini-documentary, the Browns wide receiver opened up about his complete history of substance abuse. 

Previously, it was believed that Gordon’s current ban was for marijuana use. Fans were disappointed when he was denied reinstatement this spring, but the commissioner’s decision makes more sense upon learning the full scope of Gordon’s issues.

“I’ve used alcohol on many, many occasions, Xanax on many occasions, cocaine several occasions, marijuana most of my life, codeine, cough syrup, methazine is very prevalent where I’m from,” Gordon admits (transcript via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com). “It’s what I grew up using.”

Gordon has yet to reapply for reinstatement, but a league source tells Cabot that he plans to file paperwork in conjunction with the release of the interview. Presumably, he’ll have to demonstrate that he has been on the straight and narrow for a significant period of time in order to be allowed back into the NFL. Even then, Gordon will likely have to serve a four-game ban first.

Hopefully, Gordon is ready to put his demons behind him for good.

“I think it might be therapeutic for me to talk about it,” Gordon says in the doc. “I’m in the position I’m in now and I’m grateful for it. I’m able to give this message and this opportunity for you to learn from my mistakes and for me to tell them my story.”

Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon was released from rehab almost two weeks ago, but we won’t be seeing him on the field right away. Gordon has yet to apply for reinstatement, a source tells Mike Florio of PFT (Twitter link).

Gordon was denied reinstatement this offseason, but the NFL told him that he could reapply in the fall. He ostensibly could get the ball rolling right now, but he may need some more time before opening himself up to scrutiny. The reinstatement process requires some steps to be taken on the player’s part – as Chargers center Max Tuerk has learned – and there may be extra hoops to jump through in Gordon’s case since he has been suspended multiple times by the league.

The talented wide receiver has not been on the field since the final five games of the 2014 season. He had 24 catches for 303 yards in the home stretch of that campaign. In 2013, he earned First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors when he had 87 catches for 1,646 yards and nine scores.

It’s not clear if Browns coach Hue Jackson wants Gordon back on the team.

Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon will be out of rehab on September 21, former Olympic sprinter Tim Montgomery tells Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. Montgomery, who has been working with Gordon for the last six months, says that Gordon is hoping to have the indefinite suspension lifted soon after he is released. 

Gordon has had multiple problems with the league office, so it’s not clear if commissioner Roger Goodell would allow him to return to football right away. At minimum, one has to imagine that the NFL will want to see if Gordon can stay on the straight and narrow for a period of time before giving him the green light. If that’s the case, we might not see Gordon suit up in 2017.

If Gordon is allowed back in football, the Browns will have a tough decision to make. While Gordon is one of the league’s most talented receivers, he may not be a fit for Hue Jackson‘s locker room. Jackson said last year he was ready to move on from the 26-year-old, but he seemed at least open to his return when asked about him in May.

“He’s not back, so I don’t even want to really get into that right now,” Jackson said. “I wish Josh well, and we’ll cross all those bridges when we get there.”

When asked about Gordon’s status, a league spokesman told PFT that there is “no update” at this time. That means that Gordon has yet to file for reinstatement, which makes sense considering that he is still in rehab. When Gordon was denied reinstatement this offseason, the league informed him that he could reapply in the fall, so he could get the ball rolling soon.

It’s not clear when or if we’ll see Josh Gordon on an NFL field again, but things are at least moving in the right direction. The Browns wide receiver went to rehab two months ago in cooperation with the NFL in hopes of being reinstated in late September, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears. 

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Gordon’s name was in the news a couple of weeks ago when commissioner Roger Goodell said that Gordon’s reinstatement “was not under active consideration.” However, that was much ado about nothing since Gordon had already been told in May that he could not apply for reinstatement until the fall.

Top Browns executive Sashi Brown says the club is open to a Gordon return, but it has been reported that the team will trade or release him if/when he is allowed to play again. If he’s reinstated and put on the block, you can expect him to draw considerable interest from teams, despite all of his baggage.

In 2013, Gordon’s last full season, he had 87 catches, a league-leading 1,646 yards, and nine touchdowns in 14 games. He was also productive in his suspension-shortened 2014 season, catching 24 passes for 303 yards.