CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Browns are parting ways with talented, yet troubled wide receiver Josh Gordon.
After sticking by Gordon through multiple suspensions and off-the-field issues, the Browns have reached the point where they are moving on from the receiver who gained All-Pro and Pro Bowl status with a record-setting year in 2013.
“This afternoon, we informed Josh Gordon and his representatives that we are going to release him on Monday,” Browns GM John Dorsey said in a statement announcing the move.
“For the past six years, the Browns have fully supported and invested in Josh, both personally and professionally, and wanted the best for him, but unfortunately, we’ve reached a point where we feel it’s best to part ways and move forward. We wish Josh well.”
In July, Dorsey said the Browns remained “100 percent committed” to Gordon if he remained committed to the organization after announcing he would not be present in Berea for the start of training camp because of off-the-field issues. It was their belief Gordon would be in a better place upon his return.
Gordon returned to the team days prior to the preseason finale after spending nearly a month tending to those personal matters. When Gordon did return, he suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice until the Wednesday before the regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Although Gordon missed all of training camp and the preseason, he saw plenty of action against the Steelers. Gordon was on the field for 69 snaps (78 percent of the Browns’ plays), but had only three passes thrown his way.
Gordon hauled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tyrod Taylor that allowed the Browns to draw even with the Steelers and force overtime, where the game ended in a 21-21 tie, a first in the 68-year history of the rivalry.
It was announced early Saturday afternoon that Gordon would miss Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Superdome because of a hamstring injury.
A second-round pick of the Browns in the 2012 NFL Supplemental Draft, Gordon turned 180 catches into 3,106 yards and 16 touchdowns. A Pro Bowl player in 2013, Gordon set a franchise record with an NFL-best 1,646 yards on 87 receptions with nine of those catches going for touchdowns after missing the first two games of the season because of a suspension.
However, after that Pro Bowl season, Gordon was suspended for 44 consecutive games dating back to the final week of the 2014 season, which was a team ban for reportedly missing a walk-through prior to a trip to Baltimore to play the Ravens.
Gordon has been suspended for a total of 56 games in his seven NFL seasons, 55 of which were league bans for positive drug and alcohol tests.
Despite his past issues, Gordon was welcomed back by the Browns late last season.
The Browns got a glimpse of what a healthy and focused Gordon could do over the last five games of the 2017 season after his return from his latest NFL-mandated suspension, which lasted nearly three full seasons.
In those five games, Gordon turned 18 catches into 335 yards and one touchdown. Additionally, Gordon was on the receiving end of five passes that went for gains of at least 20 yards and converted 12 first downs.
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