The Browns have officially moved Josh Gordon from the commissioner’s exempt list to their 53-man roster, putting him in position to play in a regular-season game for the first time since December 2014.
Gordon will also be a starter against the Chargers on Sunday despite the three-year absence, with Hue Jackson emphatically confirming as such on Thursday.
“Yeah, he’s going to start,” Jackson told media, including Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “Are you kidding me? I’m surprised you would ask.”
Cleveland cut safety Justin Currie to make room for Gordon on the roster, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports (on Twitter).
There haven’t been any setbacks in Gordon’s return this time, and the 26-year-old former All-Pro will join Corey Coleman in the Browns’ lineup in Los Angeles. Gordon did not look like his dominant 2013 version upon returning from a suspension in November 2014, but he shined during the 2016 preseason before another substance-abuse ban put his NFL career on the ropes. Jackson, who was ready to move on from Gordon last season, has raved about the talented pass-catcher throughout his time practicing with the team this month.
The Browns have struggled throughout the season in assembling a wide receiver crew. This marks the most depth they’ve had at that spot in a long time. Gordon returning for just five games in 2017 will keep him under contract for two more seasons in Cleveland.
It’s Party Time !!!
Curious to see how he does the rest of the season. I just hope he can stay healthy and stay clean and we can really see how he does next year when they draft a better qb or go out and get one in free agency. Assuming they don’t mess that up.
Worth starting in fantasy?
Also considering C. Patterson with Crabtree out and Cooper possibly concussed.
Or Sterling Shepard, but with Eli out he may be useless.
I picked him up but aren’t starting him. Want to see how he does first.
I picked him up but am not starting him either. Too much time off so who knows what he’ll do. Give him a game to prove it. But then again, I have better options to start than Patterson or Shepard. So I might take a shot at it in your case. Important game with the playoffs approaching?
If I lose, I don’t make the playoffs. I scored the most points in my league, but I’m firmly in 8th place with a 5-7 record. Lost Rodgers and Palmer in back to back weeks early in their respective games.