CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon did not accrue enough playing time during the 2017 season to qualify for free agency.
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, because of his multiple suspensions, including an 11-game ban during the 2017 season, Gordon will be an “exclusive-rights free agent” this season, meaning the Browns are the only team that can offer him a contract. Gordon will not be able to negotiate a deal with any other team.
Gordon will be a restricted free agent in 2019, and would qualify for unrestricted free agency in 2020.
In his five games back after the suspensions, 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.
Against the Browns’ chief rival within the AFC North Division, the Pittsburgh Steelers, quarterback DeShone Kizer’s chemistry with Gordon helped set up a touchdown, which trimmed the deficit down to seven points, 14-7, with 11:46 to play in the first half.
On second-and-three from the Cleveland 44-yard line, Kizer dropped back, stood strong in the pocket and muscled a pass down the right sideline for Gordon.
After securing the catch at the 15-yard line behind the coverage of two Steelers, Gordon hustled his way down the field, where it was originally ruled that he scored a touchdown. However, following a review, the officials ruled Gordon stepped out of bounds at the two-yard line.
Since joining the Browns through a second-round pick in the 2012 NFL Supplemental Draft, Gordon has turned 179 catches into 3,089 yards and 15 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 despite his missing the first two games of the season because of a suspension.
However, since that Pro Bowl season of 2013, 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 career games, 55 of which were NFL bans for positive drug and alcohol tests.
