Failing another NFL-administered drug test and living with a notorious partygoer isn’t exactly the best recipe for suspended Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon to gain admittance back into the league, but the former All-Pro selection dominated headlines Monday for those inadvisable acts.
Gordon failed a drug test conducted by the NFL last month, Fox Sports reported, citing unnamed sources. He’s also living with former teammate and troubled free-agent quarterback Johnny Manziel in an apartment off Sunset Boulevard, according to ESPN.
Agent Drew Rosenhaus, who represents Gordon and Manziel, declined to comment. The NFL and the Browns did the same.
“Call me if u need a real story worth writing,” Gordon wrote on Twitter after news of another failed drug test broke online. It would be at least the fourth test Gordon has failed since the Browns drafted him in the second round of the 2012 supplemental draft.
Gordon has been waiting to learn whether the league will reinstate him after it banished him for the entire 2015 season because of recurring violations of its substance-abuse policy.
The NFL has suspended him three times, and he has missed 27 of the Browns’ last 32 games.
A recent failed test would likely preclude him from being reinstated for next season, especially given his history. And the Browns have made it clear in the last month they’re prepared to move on without him.
According to the substance-abuse policy agreed upon by the NFL and NFL Players Association, Commissioner Roger Goodell determines when a banished player will be permitted to return to the league. The policy states “a player’s failure to adhere to his treatment plan during his banishment will be a significant consideration in the commissioner’s decision.”
The policy also stipulates players in stage three of the substance-abuse program face banishment with another failed test. Gordon had to reach stage three to be banished in the first place.
Furthermore, the policy states application for reinstatement should include information about the player’s “abstinence from substances of abuse throughout the entire period of his banishment.”
Fox Sports reported Gordon’s sample collected in early March tested positive for marijuana and a diluting agent. A source told the news outlet the “A” and “B” samples tested positive for marijuana and diluting agent, and although the level of marijuana was below the 35 nanograms per milliliter required for a positive test, the diluted sample is considered a positive test.
A failed test would not only explain the delay in the NFL rendering a decision on Gordon’s application for reinstatement but also why the Browns have changed their tone about him in recent months.
No time requirement
When a player files for reinstatement, the league attempts to gather the necessary information to make a ruling within 60 days of receiving the application, though there is no requirement to render a decision in that time frame. News of Gordon filing an application for reinstatement broke Jan. 20, but the NFL has yet to make a ruling.
On March 23 at the NFL owners meetings, Goodell said he was scheduled to meet with his staff by last week to receive its report on Gordon’s bid for reinstatement. Yet last week came and went without a decision from the league office. Goodell added he might meet with Gordon before deciding whether to reinstate him.
In February during Super Bowl festivities, Goodell said he wants to be assured that Gordon wouldn’t repeat his previous pattern of behavior if he were reinstated.
“When these things happen, it’s about trying to avoid them in the future,” Goodell said. “Our No. 1 issue here is to prevent these things from happening. I’m hopeful that Josh understands that he’s going to have to conduct himself differently going forward to be a member of the NFL and to be representing the Cleveland Browns, or any team in the NFL.”
A failed test would suggest Gordon, who turns 25 Wednesday, still doesn’t get it.
Change in tone
It would be a surprise if the Browns were caught off guard by his latest misstep.
In February at the NFL Scouting Combine, Browns head of football operations Sashi Brown insisted he would welcome Gordon back to the team if he were reinstated.
“Josh is taking it seriously and has learned from his mistakes,” Brown said Feb. 25. “He’s serious about wanting to be a pro and be one of the best wide receivers in the game. If he’s done all the things, puts himself in that position and cleans up some of the mistakes, then certainly we would welcome him back.”
But a month later at the owners meetings, Brown didn’t sound nearly as enthusiastic about the possibility. The change in tune suggests the team knew Gordon’s reinstatement was in jeopardy. The Browns’ communication with Gordon during his banishment is limited to his conversations with their manager of player engagement, Ron Brewer, but the organization is certainly in contact with Rosenhaus and the league.
“If Josh comes back, great,” Brown said March 21. “And if he doesn’t, we’re ready.”
Last week, coach Hue Jackson sidestepped a question about whether he would want Gordon on the team if his banishment were lifted.
“I think it’s premature for me to talk about that because he hasn’t been reinstated,” he said.
Gordon’s supposed choice of roommate won’t help his cause.
The Browns cut Manziel on March 11 after he partied his way out of the league, though Gordon hasn’t cut the cord on their friendship. Gordon even made it known last month on Twitter that he attended UFC 196 with Manziel in Las Vegas. Last week, Manziel posted a photograph on Instagram of the duo posing with two other men.
In an interview with TMZ.com this past weekend, Manziel said he had been out to a West Hollywood hotspot five to six nights in a row and is living with Denver Broncos edge rusher Von Miller. However, Denver’s 9News.com and ESPN reported Miller is not living with Manziel.
The report of Gordon sharing an apartment with Manziel raises questions about his commitment to convincing Goodell he should be granted re-entrance into the league and his desire to show the Browns he wants to rejoin them. The report of another failed drug test raises the same questions and additional ones about whether he’ll ever play professional football again.