Suspended Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon can sue the NFL to stay on the field, but that might not be such a great idea, writes Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports. Gordon’s camp is at least considering a lawsuit that would include an injunction to put the suspension on hold while the legal process plays out, but if it doesn’t work, things could get worse for him. The NFL has the right to extend Gordon’s suspension beyond the one-year sentence and that’s a gamble that might not be worthwhile. Here’s more on Gordon..

• Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer passes along statements issued by Browns General Manager Ray Farmer and coach Mike Pettine on Gordon’s suspension. Both acknowledged the challenges they’ll face without one of the league’s top talents, but also expressed optimism that they can succeed in spite of it.
• Gordon’s entire career in the NFL and with the Browns could be in jeopardy, writes Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. La Canfora cites the troubles of Justin Blackmon as reasons to be concerned that Gordon will be unable to keep his nose clean in his time away from football.
• The NFL is doing Gordon a favor by refusing to buy his excuses, writes Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report.
• Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network has heard that the Browns have been frustrated by the offseason situation with Gordon and notes that his focus in recent practices was lacking, writes Marc Sessler of NFL.com.
• Darin Gannt of Pro Football Talk believes that tight end Jordan Cameron could wind up benefitting from Gordon’s suspension.
• The NFL has been operating under the drug policy agreed upon between the NFL and the union in 2006, notes Albert Breer of the NFL Network (on Twitter). There could have been a revised policy in the CBA in 2011, one that might have raised the minimum needed for a positive test result on pot, but HGH haggling has kept that from happening.

Josh Gordon‘s one-year suspension has been upheld and his appeal has been denied, reports Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The Browns wideout released the following statement through the NFLPA shortly after the news broke:

“I’d like to apologize to my teammates, coaches, the Cleveland Browns organization and our fans. I am very disappointed that the NFL and its hearing office didn’t exercise better discretion and judgment in my case. I would like to sincerely thank the people who have been incredibly supportive of me during this challenging time, including my family, my agent, my union, my legal team, and the Cleveland Browns staff.”

Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter both reported earlier this morning (Twitter links) that an announcement was expected on Gordon by the end of the day. According to Schefter, Browns sources were “baffled” over why the ruling had taken so long. Back on August 4, we heard that an announcement on Gordon’s appeal was expected in one to three weeks, but it ended up taking 23 days.

Now that the year-long penalty has been upheld, it’s expected to run through 2015’s training camp and most of the preseason as well, which could have been avoided if a decision had been handed down earlier. However, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets, the NFL’s statement on the ruling reads, in part: “Gordon’s eligibility for reinstatement will be determined following the 2014 season.” That suggests the league may decide to reinstate Gordon in advance of next year’s camp, depending on his behavior. At the very least though, he’ll miss the entire 2014 season.

The NFL’s leading receiver in 2013, Gordon will serve his suspension as a result of repeated violations of the league’s substance-abuse policy. During his appeal hearing, his lawyers argued that his positive test was a result of second-hand smoke, and called into question the results of his test, in which one urine sample passed and one failed by a small margin.

Because the decision on the appeal and the suspension was left to hearing officer Harold Henderson, the decision was an all-or-nothing proposition. Had Henderson decided not to let the penalty stand, he would have had to wipe out Gordon’s ban entirely — a suspension somewhere in between those two extremes would have had to be negotiated by the NFL and the NFLPA, and there was no indication that the two sides entered into any real talks about that possibility.

Despite missing the first two games of the 2013 season due to another drug-related suspension, Gordon caught 87 passes for a staggering 1,646 yards, and added nine touchdowns. The 23-year-old was named as one of the two All-Pro wide receivers, alongside Lions superstar Calvin Johnson. With the standout pass catcher no longer in the mix for 2014, Brian Hoyer – and perhaps Johnny Manziel – will have a decidedly less impressive receiving corps with which to work, one that includes free agent signees Miles Austin, Andrew Hawkins, and Nate Burleson.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The Josh Gordon saga continues on, as a decision regarding his suspension is not likely to be handed down this week as expected, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).

The All-Pro wide receiver has been in limbo since his hearing concluded way back on August 4th. At that time, a decision was expected to come between one and three weeks. However, the third week is coming to an end, and Browns’ fans are still waiting to hear if their best player will set foot on the field at all in 2014.

Hopefully for all parties, Monday the 25th will be the day that the decision comes down and all this waiting will come to an end.

There is still a chance that the suspension is reduced in some way, especially in the aftermath of Ray Rice‘s two-game suspension. The thinking is that a suspension eight times as long for substance abuse will only add to the hysteria over the brevity or Rice’s suspension.

Our readers at Pro Football Rumors overwhelmingly believe the suspension will be cut in half at least during the potential settlement.

Hearing officer Harold Henderson is thought to be the cause for the delay, according to Rapoport (via Twitter). Henderson was reported to be a reason for the delay a week ago when the transcription process was called into question.

Yesterday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that a decision in the Josh Gordon appeal hearing could be handed down by the end of next week. While that time frame would mesh with the original one to three week interval proposed after the hearing concluded on August 4, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk opines that the entire process has been mishandled, and argues that the NFL needs to begin expediting suspension proceedings.

While Schefter noted that the delays in the case are being attributed to the transcribing process, Florio, a former lawyer, questions this excuse, as transcripts can be prepared “almost instantaneously.” Using current transcription technology, hearing officer Harold Henderson could have likely had a copy of the meeting’s notes on hand the moment the proceedings had concluded. Critical facts in the case (which Florio estimates comprise about 5% of any hearing) could have been clarified instantly for Henderson by listening to the audio recording of the examination.

Henderson, Florio continues, probably had a decent idea of his impending decision the day the hearing had ended. While a lengthy written judgement is to be expected, a simple, early statement either upholding or vacating Gordon’s suspension would have been best for all parties. If Gordon’s one-year ban isn’t announced until late August, it could put the start of his 2015 season at risk, as well, as he wouldn’t be able to properly prepare for next year. Given the fallout to Ray Rice‘s seemingly light two-game suspension for a domestic incident, it’s odd that the NFL hasn’t at least sped up the process as to let Gordon and the Browns plan out the next stages of his career.