Josh Gordon - Pro Football Rumors

Latest On Josh Gordon

September 16th, 2014 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Browns wideout Josh Gordon pleaded guilty to a charge of DUI in Raleigh today, the Wake County Clerk of Court confirmed to Will Brinson of CBSSports.com. As a result of the guilty plea, Gordon received 12 months unsupervised probation and will have to pay a total of $390 in court costs and fines.

As for how the DUI will affect Gordon’s NFL status, that remains somewhat unclear. The league’s new drug policy states that the penalty for a first-time DUI will be a two-game suspension, but because the incident occurred and the legal process concluded while the old policy is still technically in place, Gordon won’t be subject to that automatic two-game suspension, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Under the old drug policy, a first-time DUI offense results in no suspension and a maximum fine of $50K from the NFL. As Florio points out in a tweet, Gordon still may face a suspension under that old policy due to his history of substance-abuse issues, but it won’t be an automatic two-gamer, as it would be under the new rules.

Of course, once the new drug policy is instituted, which is expected to happen any day now, Gordon will still have to serve the rest of a 10-game ban for violations of the league’s substance abuse guidelines. But if he can avoid further punishment, it could make a big difference for his NFL future. Playing in the Browns’ final six games this season would allow Gordon to earn an accrued season, meaning he’d remain on track to be eligible for free agency after the 2015 season. If he were to be suspended for an additional two games, playing in only four this season, he wouldn’t earn that accrued season, meaning the Browns would get an extra year of team control on the young wideout.

Welker, Scandrick, Others To Be Reinstated

September 15th, 2014 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Broncos wideout Wes Welker and Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick are among the players who will be reinstated when the term sheet for the league’s new drug policy is agreed upon, according to Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Facebook link). Welker and Scandrick are two of the estimated 20 players whose suspensions will be affected by the new policy once it’s approved by the NFL, which is expected to happen within the next 24 hours.

Besides Welker and Scandrick, Rams receiver Stedman Bailey, Giants offensive lineman Eric Herman, and former Vikings defensive end Spencer Nealy will also have the remaining games on their suspensions wiped out and will be reinstated immediately, according to the ESPN duo. Additionally, Browns wideout Josh Gordon and ex-Colts receiver LaVon Brazill will have their year-long bans reduced to 10 games.

That handful of players named by Schefter and Mortensen is far from the complete list of players who will be affected by the NFL’s new drug policy, but we may not get that full list of names until the agreement becomes official. In any case, it seems plenty of players who had originally been suspended through Week 3 will get the opportunity to return to their teams’ respective practices this week, and many of them could be active this coming Sunday.

Josh Gordon To Be Back At Browns’ Facility

September 14th, 2014 at 9:31pm CST by Rob DiRe

As the impending drug policy is readied to be put in place in time for week three of NFL action, many players will see their active drug suspensions reduced. Josh Gordon, who once faced a season-long ban, now may be able to return to the field after serving a reduced 10-game suspension.

Maybe even more importantly, language in the new deal would allow Gordon to immediately return to the Browns’ facilities, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Rapoport noted that this was a result the team wanted badly.

Under the current policy, Gordon is not allowed to have any contact with the team or team officials. The team would not have had the ability to counsel the star wide receiver through his rehab, or monitor his workout regimen while he was suspended.

Once the new drug policy is passed, the team will be able to take a much more hands on approach with their troubled All Pro player.

AFC Links: Gordon, Patriots, Moreno, Bortles

September 13th, 2014 at 9:37pm CST by Dallas Robinson

If Josh Gordon is allowed to play this season (as expected), he will then only be under contract through 2015, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal (Twitter link). Had Gordon’s suspension been upheld, and he had been forced to sit out the entire year, his contract would have tolled, meaning the Browns would have controlled his rights through the 2016 season. Instead, Gordon will earn $1.068MM in 2015 and then hit free agency unless an extension is worked out. If his 2014 ban is reduced to ten games as reported, he will earn 7/17 of that salary (~$440K) in base salary this season. Here’s more from around the AFC.

Defensive lineman Kona Schwenke, who was waived from the Chiefs’ practice squad on Thursday, worked out for the Patriots today, reports Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (via Twitter). At 6’4″, 303 pounds, the 22-year-old Schweneke has the size required to play in New England’s multiple defensive fronts.
Patriots offensive lineman Ryan Wendell has $200K in gameday active roster bonuses included in his contract — he’s already been ruled out for tomorrow’s game, meaning he will miss out on $12,500K, per Reiss (on Twitter).
In a piece for Athlon Sports, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News examines 10 offseason moves that look regrettable following Week 1. Atop the scribe’s list is the Broncos’ decision to let Knowshon Moreno defect to the Dolphins. Moreno reportedly didn’t receive interest from any other team besides Miami, so it’s hard to quibble with Denver’s lack of interest in retaining the veteran running back. Still, Moreno did perform well on Sunday, rushing for 134 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots.
Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union wonders when the Jaguars should transition to rookie quarterback Blake Bortles, arguing that it should be after Jacksonville wins it first game, so that the pressure on Bortles isn’t as extreme.

Drug Suspension Not Lifted In Time For Week 2

September 13th, 2014 at 3:23pm CST by Rob DiRe

The deadline to activate players for Sunday action was 4 P.M. ET today, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Without a new deal agreed to, teams will not have a chance to activate players who had suspensions about to be reduced in time for the games this weekend.

Those players will not have been reinstated into the NFL in time to play, and will now have to wait until next week to see their suspension lifted, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).

The player representatives approved the new deal, but it has not yet been made official.

Some players, such as Wes Welker, Orlando Scandrick, Reshad Jones, and Dion Jordan have each been suspended four games, but could have those suspensions thrown out under the new policy.

Josh Gordon, who was suspended for the entire season, could see his ban reduced to only 10 games.

The entire group will have to wait until next week for these changes to take effect, reports Mike Garafalo of Fox Sports 1 (via Twitter).

Latest On NFL Drug Policy

September 13th, 2014 at 8:48am CST by Ben Levine

Those who were hoping they’d wake up to find a new league drug policy will be a bit disappointed this morning. There were indications yesterday that a deal was imminent, and that still appears to be the case. However, the two sides said this morning that there were still some issues to be resolved.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com that a policy is “not done” and that there was still “some work to do.”

Meanwhile, the NFLPA released an official statement:

“The Board of Player Representatives gave the NFLPA authority to complete new drug policies with the League consistent with detailed term sheets the players reviewed. We hope to have final agreements, including effective date for players with adjusted discipline, very soon.”

While the agreement has not been finalized, some details have been reported. Let’s take a look at the latest news…

USA Today’s Tom Pelissero tweets details regarding discipline for marijuana use: an initial positive test would result in a two-game fine and a second positive would earn the player a four-game fine. Subsequent positive tests would be punished by a four-game ban, a ten-game ban and a one-year ban.
The penalties for using other “drugs of abuse” will be more strict than the marijuana penalties, tweets Pelissero. A first test would lead to a four-game fine, followed by a four-game ban and then a one-year ban. The writer notes that some players argued against these punishments.
A first offense for a DUI conviction will be punishable by at least a two-game ban (via Pelissero’s Twitter). The commissioner has the right to increase the suspension based on “aggravating circumstances.”
Pelissero also tweets that the two sides are hoping to begin HGH testing within the next two weeks. There would be varying punishments for a first offense, followed by a 10-game ban and a two-year ban.
Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets that not all players were in favor of reducing Josh Gordon‘s suspension. In a subsequent tweet, Cole adds that players who don’t use recreational drugs aren’t necessarily in favor of easing the penalties.

Josh Gordon To Be Suspended 10 Games

September 12th, 2014 at 3:56pm CST by Zachary Links

3:56pm: Once the player reps vote within the next hour, the names of those reinstated players will be made public, tweets Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com. That tally should be in the double digits, but is not expected to exceed 20.

3:28pm: Under the new policy, Gordon’s suspension will be 10 games, a source tells Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer (on Twitter). The new policy calls for a 10-game suspension for a fourth violation.

2:23pm: A source with knowledge of the situation gave Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk a detailed rundown of what the new policy will look like if it is approved by the NFLPA. The NFL and NFLPA will jointly select, approve, and pay for a pool of three-to-five independent arbitrators to deal with appeals. Also, testing for HGH will also get underway this year without a population study.

9:20am: When a new drug policy is approved as early as this afternoon, Josh Gordon‘s suspension is expected to be reduced to eight games, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). As expected, the new policy would also mean the reinstatement of Wes Welker, Orlando Scandrick, Dion Jordan, and others, as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.

If the new policy is finally approved today, it will bring weeks of back-and-forth negotiations and outside speculation to a close. According to a report frm Rapoport and Albert Breer last night, the new deal will have two-game suspensions for DUI convictions but won’t include the mandatory one-game suspension for a DUI arrest that the league was looking for. Additionally, the THC threshold is expected to move from 15 nanograms/milliliter to 35 ng/ml, which is still less than the standards of MLB (50 ng/ml) or the Olympics (150 ng/ml), but a significant change nonetheless. Had Gordon been tested with the new threshold in mind, he would have passed comfortably.

An eight game suspension for Gordon would be a split-down-the-middle compromise between the two sides as he was initially slated to miss the entire 2014 season. Welker, Scandrick, and Jordan all failed their tests inside of the 2014 league year while Gordon’s came before the official start on March 11th.

New Drug Policy Likely To Be Passed Tomorrow

September 11th, 2014 at 11:09pm CST by Zachary Links

11:09pm: Rapoport and Breer published a joint post on NFL.com, reporting that the policy will likely be voted on and passed tomorrow. The league agreed to drop its request of a mandatory one-game suspension for DUI arrest, but there will be two-game suspensions for DUI convictions. Additionally, the THC threshold is expected to move from 15 nanograms/milliliter to 35 ng/ml, which is still less than the standards of MLB (50 ng/ml) or the Olympics (150 ng/ml).

9:40pm: While Rapoport says (on Twitter) that the it’s “no sure thing” that the policy passes tomorrow, Breer tweets the the union received a fresh proposal from the league tonight, and it looks like the new deal will go through. Additionally, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report notes (Twitter link) that though the THC threshold will be increased in the agreement, it won’t be upped to Olympic levels, as many players are opposed to such a notion.

8:30pm: Breer tweets he’s been told repeatedly that the NFLPA will not vote on a proposal without knowing that it will “pass overwhelmingly,” which indicates that the union’s vote tomorrow will result in a new policy being ratified.

8:13pm: The union has scheduled a vote on the new policy for tomorrow afternoon, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Players suspended for amphetamine use – such as Welker, Scandrick, and Dion Jordan – would be reinstated under the agreement (link).

7:28pm: A source close to the negotiations tells Dan Graziano of ESPN.com that the players could vote on the new policy as early as Friday. The new deal could result in an instant reistatement for Wes Welker a reduction of Gordon’s suspension to something in the range of 6-10 games. There are other key changes to the drug policy being discussed, including the handling of HGH testing.

4:23pm: The two sides are circling around a few remaining issues with the policy and are trading proposals, tweets Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (on Twitter). He doubts there will be anything approved by the players tonight, however. Major hurdles have been cleared in the discussions, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network.

3:00pm: Both the NFL and NFLPA are hoping to finalize a new drug policy tonight in which the suspensions will wind up being overturned, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

2:26pm: The NFLPA told its union representatives to be on standby for a potential vote on a new global drug policy, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. As we’ve heard before, reinstatement for some suspended players is also on table in the talks.

However, the Josh Gordon case remains tricky since his failed test took place before new league year, which is when the grandfathering of the new rules would begin (link). The new league year officially began on March 11, 2014 and the Browns wide receiver flunked his test prior to that date. Others like Wes Welker and Orlando Scandrick, however, could be back in action rather quickly since their positive tests took place in the 2014 league year. The NFLPA has previously said that they would want players who are serving drug suspensions back on the field under the new rules.

Yesterday we heard that there has been significant positive movement toward an agreement between the NFL and NFLPA on a new drug policy, though the league dragged their feet on a new proposal. There was major skepticism yesterday that anything could get done in time for the suspended players to get reinstated for Sunday and from the outside it still sounds unlikely. One might speculate that the ongoing Ray Rice scandal has thrown a wrench into the progress of the drug policy talks.

Latest On Drug Policy Talks

September 10th, 2014 at 7:08pm CST by Luke Adams

7:08pm: The NFLPA hasn’t received the league’s response to the latest edits on the drug policy, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. With a game tomorrow, a vote amongst team reps is now unlikely before Friday.

1:43pm: There has been significant positive movement toward an agreement between the NFL and NFLPA on a new drug policy for the league, according to Albert Breer and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (Twitter link), who report that the league has dropped its request for discipline upon DUI arrests (without due process). The team player representatives are expected to spend the next 24 hours reviewing the details of the NFL’s latest proposal, and if all goes well, they should conduct a vote before Sunday (Twitter link).

While the DUI issue appears to have been tentatively resolved, there are still a couple areas of contention, according to Breer and Rapoport. The two sides have yet to agree upon the HGH testing protocol and neutral arbitration on appeals — the union’s lawyers flagged language in those two areas that had been modified in the league’s most recent proposal, and that was enough to force the team player reps to postpone a vote on whether or not to approve the new policy (Twitter links).

Still, there are a number of areas which have not been divisive and have essentially been agreed upon, including the idea of revisiting all player suspensions for the 2014 league year relating to the drug policy (Twitter link). If the new policy is approved this week, players like Wes Welker and Orlando Scandrick – who were suspended for 2014 violations – would likely be able to play as soon as this Sunday (Twitter link). Those suspensions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but Welker’s and Scandrick’s bans were based on a part of the policy which will be modified to make penalties less punitive, so they should be retroactively wiped out.

Of course, not all current suspensions will be so cut-and-dried; Breer and Rapoport point to Josh Gordon‘s case as one that will be a little more complicated (Twitter link). An agreement on a new drug policy would mean revisiting all suspensions levied since the new league year began on March 11, 2014, but while failed tests like Welker’s and Scandrick’s actually took place this year, Gordon failed his test last season. So even though the Browns wideout wasn’t disciplined until this year, the new policy may not apply to his suspension.

However, until a new plan is approved and until we hear exactly what it entails, we’re still in wait-and-see mode. For now, it appears that the NFLPA is moving toward voting on the NFL’s proposal, perhaps as early as tonight, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post (Twitter link).

Browns Owner Vetoed Gordon Trade In 2013

September 7th, 2014 at 2:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

With all the news surrounding Josh Gordon, it’s easy to forget the trade rumors that swirled regarding the troubled Browns receiver last season. Today, we have a little more specification on one such proposed deal courtesy of Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, who reports that the 49ers were highly interested in acquiring Gordon in the midst of last season.

Per La Canfora, San Francisco was willing to part with a second-round pick in “addition to other players” in order to add Gordon to what at the time was a struggling offense. However, Cleveland’s decision-makers were split on the idea of dealing their young star — while team president Joe Banner was “very open” to trading Gordon, head coach Rob Chudzinski, who had developed a personal relationship with the receiver, was less willing to deal him. Ultimately, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam stepped in and nixed any tentative deal, and requested any further Gordon trade discussions be tabled.

While neither Banner nor Chudzinski remains in the Cleveland organization, it’s worth wondering whether Haslam regrets his decision. Gordon’s status is still very much in the air, and while he’s certainly talented, garnering a second-round pick and transferring his risk to another team could have been viewed as a win for the Browns. The 49ers, of course, eventually reached the NFC Championship game even without Gordon — they acquired another receiver, ex-Bill Stevie Johnson, over the offseason.

La Canfora’s report could also give us some clarity as to Gordon’s current trade value. Though the Browns have denied any interest in waiving Gordon, it wouldn’t be out of the question for them to look to move him (especially if his one-year suspension is reversed, or lessened). Cleveland wouldn’t get more than the 49ers offered given Gordon’s current concerns, but a team desperate for a playmaker could propose some sort of package for the young receiver. Setting a second-rounder as the ceiling, and assuming his suspension is overturned or reduced, I could perhaps see a team sending a fourth-round pick to the Browns in order to acquire Gordon.

However, if Haslam’s view on dealing Gordon hasn’t wavered, any further trade discussions would be moot. Additionally, La Canfora writes that the Browns went to great lengths to help Gordon last season, working with the Cleveland Clinic to find sports psychologists who could assist him in his personal life. The Browns clearly have a lot invested in Gordon, and given that they’ve stuck by him through his latest episodes, I doubt they’d look to get rid of him now.