BEREA: Sitting out all of last season forced Josh Gordon to have an epiphany.
The Browns’ recently reinstated wide receiver finally realized what the rest of the world knew. Letting his All-Pro talent waste away would be foolish.
“You definitely get that sense of need to do something important with your life and with my career, considering my age and how much time I’ve been out,” Gordon said Thursday on the eve of training camp opening.
Speaking to local beat writers for the first time since December 2014, Gordon admitted he didn’t know whether the Browns would welcome him back the way they have. But the team’s brass has embraced Gordon, 25, because it believes he’s serious about changing. He’s grateful.
“I definitely think I’m a different person,” said Gordon, who suffered a quadriceps injury while working out recently and isn’t expected to practice for at least a couple of weeks.
Gordon had been banished from the NFL since Feb. 3, 2015, because of recurring violations of its substance-abuse policy, until Commissioner Roger Goodell granted him re-entry into the league on a conditional basis Monday. He’ll be suspended for the first four regular-season games of 2016, meaning he’ll miss 31 of 36 games heading into his scheduled return Oct. 9 against the New England Patriots.
“In the past, I’ve been a selfish player. I’ll definitely admit that,” said Gordon, who led the NFL in receiving yards in 2013 despite being suspended for two games. “I wanted to do things my way. ... But things turn around. People change. It’s possible to change. It takes people some learning, but eventually you get to that point, and I think I have.”
The Browns are buying Gordon’s message. Head of football operations Sashi Brown explained they decided to welcome Gordon back after gathering information about his interactions with player engagement manger Ron Brewer and his meeting last week with Goodell at NFL headquarters in New York. The team’s bigwigs liked what they heard. Brown and coach Hue Jackson were able to meet with Gordon on Tuesday to hear for themselves.
“If the message from Josh and the pledge from Josh wasn’t consistent with what we wanted to see from him, we would’ve made a different decision,” Brown said during a news conference. “That wasn’t the case. He in earnest wants to make the most of this opportunity.
“It’s about Josh wanting to make a change. ... We’ll find out very quickly if he’s serious about it. We believe he is, but we’ll hold him accountable, and he’ll have to hold himself accountable.”
Many of Gordon’s teammates believe he’ll do that.
“Josh is a guy who seems to be refocused, so I just couldn’t be happier to have him back,” outside linebacker Paul Kruger said.
“For as many games as we can have him, we need him. He’s a huge impact player, and he’s just a guy that can add a lot to a team.
“He’s made those changes that got him to this building and to this point. There’s been a lot of guys that have been in his situation and had obstacles and haven’t been able to recover. I think Josh has proven that he’s determined to resurrect himself in a sense, so I’m supportive of it and I’m happy for it.”
Browns special adviser Jim Brown has been mentoring Gordon. The legendary running back said last month Gordon agreed to rehab in his quest for reinstatement.
“I’ve taken the steps necessary to better myself as a person off the field just as much as on,” Gordon said when asked about rehab.
Jackson stressed the Browns have made their expectations clear to Gordon, and the coach believes the organization has a structure in place to adequately support him.
“It plays a part on both sides, me wanting to give into that support and allow them to help me and me wanting to be helped,” Gordon said. “As opposed to before, me trying to be selfish or do things on my own. I want to buy into an organization, loving, caring, providing facility and people here that want to do the most that they can and do everything they can to help us.”
For example, the Browns have placed Gordon’s locker next to that of his good friend and former college teammate, Robert Griffin III. Gordon said Griffin is the reason he committed to Baylor University in 2009, and he views him as a big brother.
But the bottom line is Gordon controls his future. Another violation of the substance-abuse policy would result in another banishment of at least a year.
Gordon’s close friendship with former Browns quarterback and notorious partygoer Johnny Manziel makes many observers skeptical.
“We’re definitely two different people headed down two different paths,” he said. “... That’s my friend, first and foremost. But for the sake of my career I have to do what I have to do.”
Gordon insisted being out of work for more than a year humbled him.
“The point has definitely gotten across to me clear as day,” he said. “It’s not a place you want to go back to or ever get to.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns.