NFL wide receiver Josh Gordon experienced another setback this week when the details of his most recent lapse went public.
According to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, Gordon’s conditional reinstatement has been rescinded by the league and he is suspended indefinitely until further notice.
Gordon was initially supposed to return to the field toward the second half of this season, but obviously that never materialized.
Heading into this most recent disappointment Gordon had been suspended by the NFL for violating its substance abuse policy on five separate occasions.
Since entering the league and getting everyone excited about him during his All Pro 2013 season, Gordon has played in a grand total of 33 games.
In 2013, he was suspended for two weeks after testing positive for codeine in his system. A mere year later, he was suspended ten games for testing positive for marijuana. Later he would get suspended again by the Cleveland Browns for violating team rules. That resulted in him suiting up for all of five games in 2014.
A year later, in 2015, he failed another drug test and was suspended for what should have been at least a year. However, after entering a rehab program he was granted conditional reinstatement in 2017.
Eventually, Cleveland got tired of the nonsense that accompanied Gordon and traded him to the New England Patriots for a fifth round pick. There was a lot of chatter about how Gordon would become a new man under Bill Belichick, but that did not end up happening. Instead, he failed another drug test and was suspended for violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement.
In 2019, the Patriots waived Gordon and he was picked up by the Seattle Seahawks. Shortly thereafter, he was suspended indefinitely for violating the NFL’s policies on performance-enhancing substances and substances of abuse.
Late last year, Gordon sold the Super Bowl ring he received from the Patriots for a pretty hefty amount. Beyond that, he has been largely off the grid.
Based on recent events, it’s safe to say that an NFL comeback is probably pretty unlikely at this point.
Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
