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You’re probably out of luck if you’re hoping to see Josh Gordon on an NFL football field any time soon.
Gordon’s reinstatement is “not under active consideration, to my knowledge,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told a group of Cleveland Browns season ticket holders, per WKYC Sports’ Pat Chiesa. “At least it hasn’t gotten to my desk yet.”
Roger Goodell says @JOSH_GORDONXII's reinstatement application "hasn't gotten to my desk yet." @wkyc #3Browns pic.twitter.com/qUgpTTIMS5
— Pat Chiesa (@PatChiesa) August 17, 2017
If Goodell isn’t aware of a petition for Gordon’s reinstatement, then it’s probably not something we’ll see happen anytime soon.
Gordon was eligible to play the 2017 season for the Browns if he served a four-game suspension, but he opted to enter an inpatient rehab treatment facility instead to presumably get his life together.
After applying for reinstatement in March of this year, on May 11, his application was denied, giving him a two-month pause before he could reapply. If that has happened, the league’s boss and final signatory needed for approval has apparently not even heard about it, let alone received any paperwork to consider.
Gordon has played in just five of the Browns’ last 48 games, the last coming in December 2014.
The once-explosive receiver is still just 26 years old, so it’s possible, if he wants to and has his life together off the field, that he could make an eventual return to the NFL. And if he does, it’ll have to be with the Browns, assuming they don’t trade him or waive him from their roster.
Gordon is under contract with the team for at least one season, and would be a restricted free agent in the second year he’s active.
If reinstated, Gordon could obviously be a tremendous help for a young team that’s searching for identity and playmakers. But at this point, it’s not a certainty he ever plays the game again, let alone lights the league on fire with his dynamic size, speed and catching ability.