Cleveland Browns have finally had it with their troubled wide receiver Josh Gordon and will release or trade the 27-year-old in the coming days.
Initially, the Browns announced on Saturday that they will release Gordon after he reportedly showed up late for practice with a hamstring injury. The player injured himself on a promotional photo shoot which was not team sponsored according to multiple sources.
“This afternoon we informed Josh Gordon and his representatives that we are going to release him on Monday,” – said Browns’ general manager John Dorsey in a statement on Saturday. “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.”
Insiders close to Cleveland Browns organization say that the team wanted to move on from Josh Gordon in order to finally start a culture change. Gordon had numerous off-field issues since he joined the Browns in 2012 including multiple violations of league’s substance abuse policy. He ended up missing 2014 and 2015 season while playing only 11 games since 2013 season. Browns supported Gordon through all of these years, but it looks like they gave up after these recent events.
Despite all the problems that surround Josh Gordon, there are still other NFL teams that would like to see him in their uniform. This is why the Browns decided against releasing Gordon on Monday as they initially planned, and are now looking into trade options with San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots being among the most probable options.
Josh Gordon played in the Browns season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers and had one catch for 17 yards and a touchdown.
