Josh Gordon
Joshua Caleb Gordon, nicknamed "Flash", is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League for eight seasons. He played college football for the Baylor Bears and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2012 NFL Supplemental draft. Throughout his career, Gordon was lauded for his on-field production, but also faced several suspensions for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.
Gordon had a breakout season in 2013 by leading the league in receiving yards, which earned him Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors. Over the next four seasons, Gordon only played in 11 games for the Browns due to his substance abuse suspensions, missing the entirety of the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Gordon was traded to the New England Patriots in 2018, but voluntarily left the active roster amid a potential indefinite suspension from the NFL. He returned to New England the following season and was signed to the Seattle Seahawks prior to Week 9, before further substance abuse violations led to his suspension in 2020. Reinstated the next year, Gordon spent his last two seasons in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans.
Early life
Gordon was born to Elaine and Herald Gordon in Houston, Texas, on April 13, 1991. He has two brothers, and is of Haitian descent.Gordon attended Lamar High School in Houston, where he played football and ran track. He additionally played basketball as a sophomore. As a junior playing football, he caught 20 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns. As a senior, he was named first-team All-District 20-5A after totaling 25 receptions for 531 yards and nine touchdowns.
He also competed in track and field as a senior, where he ran a leg on the Lamar 4 × 100m and 4 × 200m relay squads, helping them capture the state title in both events with times of 0:42.69 seconds and 1:30.43 minutes, respectively.
During the college recruitment period, Gordon was targeted by Baylor, Houston, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas Tech. According to Rivals.com, Gordon was ranked as a 3-star wide receiver, while Scout.com rated him as a 2-star at the position.
College career
Gordon accepted an athletic scholarship to play football for Baylor University. Although he received multiple Division I offers, his choice of Baylor was easy due to his supervised probation following a felony he committed when he was 17, which required him to not leave the state of Texas. On the morning of October 3, 2010, during his sophomore year, he and teammate Willie Jefferson were found asleep in a local Taco Bell drive-thru lane, where police found marijuana in Jefferson's car. Jefferson, who was driving, was kicked off the team due to it being his second violation, but Gordon was only suspended. Gordon finished the 2010 season with 42 receptions for 714 yards and 7 receiving touchdowns, leading the Big 12 conference in yards per reception. In July 2011, Gordon was suspended indefinitely by head coach Art Briles for failing a drug test and testing positive for marijuana. In August, Gordon transferred to the University of Utah, but did not play during the 2011 season after declaring too late for the 2011 NFL Supplemental draft.College statistics
Professional career
Cleveland Browns
2012 season
Gordon was selected in the second round of the 2012 Supplemental draft by the Cleveland Browns. On July 16, 2012, Gordon signed a four-year, $5.3 million deal with the Browns.In Week 5 of the 2012 season against the New York Giants, Gordon scored two receiving touchdowns, including the first of his career. He had two receptions for 82 yards, both of which he hauled in for his first two career touchdowns, in the 27–41 road loss. In Week 13 against the Oakland Raiders, Gordon had his first game with 100 receiving yards, recording six catches for 116 yards and a receiving touchdown in the narrow 20–17 road win. He finished his rookie season with 50 receptions for 805 yards and five receiving touchdowns, as well as the only fumble of his career, in 16 games and 13 starts.
2013 season
On June 7, 2013, the NFL announced that Gordon would be suspended for the first two games of the 2013 season due to violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. In Week 3, he returned from his suspension and had ten receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown in the 31–27 road victory over the Minnesota Vikings. In Week 8 against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had five receptions for 132 receiving yards and a touchdown in the 17–23 road loss. After a Week 10 bye, Gordon compiled a historic feat over the following four games. In Week 11 on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals, he had five receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown in the 20–41 road loss. In Week 12 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Gordon caught 14 passes for 237 yards. In Week 13, Gordon made 10 receptions for season-highs in both yards and touchdowns against the Jacksonville Jaguars. During the 28–32 loss, at Cleveland's own 5-yard line with 4:09 left in the game and facing a 21–25 deficit at home, quarterback Brandon Weeden threw a 95-yard pass that Gordon caught, setting the longest reception of his career and a length that led the league for the season. His performance over the prior two games marked the first time in NFL history that a wide receiver had back-to-back regular season games with at least 200 receiving yards, generating the most receiving yards in two consecutive games, as he became the first 1,000-yard receiver for Cleveland since 2007. In Week 14, he had seven receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown against the New England Patriots. Gordon's four-game stretch of 774 receiving yards set an NFL record of yards tallied by any player in the same amount of games, surpassing Calvin Johnson's 746 yards through Weeks 7 to 11 of the same season.On December 26, he was named the Cleveland chapter's PFWA Player of the Year following the season. The next day, Gordon was selected to his first Pro Bowl, the only of his career. He finished the 2013 season setting career-highs with 87 receptions, nine receiving touchdowns, and a league-leading 1,646 receiving yards in 14 games and starts. Gordon was ranked 16th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014, and he earned First Team All-Pro honors alongside Johnson.
2014 season
On July 5, 2014, Gordon was arrested for driving while impaired in Raleigh, North Carolina. On August 27, Gordon acknowledged that the NFL suspended him for one year for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. On September 19, his suspension was reduced to 10 games amidst the new NFL drug testing and punishment policy. Gordon was officially reinstated on November 17. In his Week 12 season debut against the Atlanta Falcons, he made 8 receptions for a season-high 120 yards, as well as the lone fumble recovery of his career on a drive that ended in a field goal as the Browns won on the road 26–24. On December 27, exactly one year removed from being selected to the Pro Bowl, the Browns suspended Gordon from the final game of the season due to a violation of team rules. This was reported to be for missing a team walkthrough.Due to Gordon's suspensions in the 2014 season, he appeared and started in five games and caught 24 passes for 303 yards with no touchdowns.
2015 season
Gordon was suspended for the entire 2015 season due to violating the league's substance abuse policy. Gordon entered the NFL's substance abuse program in September 2014 after pleading guilty to a driving while impaired charge, where he was prohibited from consuming alcohol during his time in the program. The suspension was for one year starting on February 3, 2015, and he was not eligible to return until the start of the 2016 season.2016 season
On January 20, 2016, Gordon applied to the league for reinstatement. His request was denied in March when it was reported that he had failed another drug test. On July 25, Gordon was reinstated by the NFL on a conditional basis. He was allowed to participate in training camp, but was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 regular season. On September 29, while he was one week away from reinstatement to the NFL, Gordon left the Browns to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility.In a press statement, Gordon wrote, "After careful thought and deep consideration I've decided that I need to step away from pursuing my return to the Browns and my football career to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility. This is the right decision for me and one that I hope will enable me to gain full control of my life and continue on a path to reach my full potential as a person. I appreciate the support of the NFL, NFLPA, the Browns, my teammates, my agent and the community through this extremely challenging process."