Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon may be facing a yearlong suspension with no guarantee of reinstatement by the NFL when that year is up, but the team has no plans to release him. Head coach Mike Pettine gave a very long interview with the Akron Beacon Journal on Monday and when he wasn't talking about pictures of Johnny Manziel, he was talking about Gordon's future.
Mike Pettine says Josh Gordon won’t be released
Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine says Josh Gordon’s release would be the worst thing for both player and team.
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Pettine said that Gordon “is a Cleveland Brown,” and that the team is going to make decisions based on “what’s best for the player, and you try to marry it with what’s best for the team.” Pettine is responding to comments made by NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter, who suggested that releasing Gordon is the best thing the team could do right now to help him realize the road he’s going down.
Obviously, Pettine doesn’t feel that way. He said that releasing Gordon “might be the worst option” for both player and team, and that the Browns plan to wait and see what happens with this suspension before making any decisions. It will be interesting to see if Pettine’s thoughts on the matter change when the team finally knows what’s going on with his suspension, which could be just a couple weeks away, according to Pettine.
A player like Gordon is worth waiting a year for, if he does end up being gone for that length of time. He’s already one of the top receivers in the NFL, and would be a very valuable weapon for Manziel if he can actually find his way onto the field. It’s unclear if his recent DWI will result in an even harsher suspension, which is definitely complicating things for the Browns.
Pettine said that Gordon isn’t easily replaced, and that the Browns will have to go with a “committee approach” while Gordon is away, for however long that ends up being.
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