Cleveland Browns’ WR Josh Gordon wants to be able to hit free agency in 2016
After being suspended for the 2015 season after failing another drug test, Josh Gordon is filing a grievance. The grievance isn’t a result of the failed test however. It’s a result of the team-imposed suspension Gordon faced in week 17, where Gordon was suspended for a violation of team rules. Because Gordon only played in five games compared to six, his eligibility for free agency must wait another year.
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If Gordon wins his grievance, he will be able to become an unrestricted free agent in 2016. However, if he doesn’t win, he will have to wait til 2017 to become a free agent.
This is also providing he passes league protocols and is eligible to return which he has a hard time doing already.
This hasn’t been the best offseason for the Browns who have lost coaches Kyle Shanahan and Dowell Loggains to other jobs. They’ve also been saddled with the Gordon issue and one of their first-round picks last year, Johnny Manziel, entered rehab for issues stemming from alcohol.
The bad news doesn’t stop there either for Cleveland and it’s beginning to feeling like it never does.
According to reports last week, tight end Jordan Cameron, soon to be a free agent, wants nothing to do with the situation in Cleveland and is ready to jettison the franchise. With the future of Manziel unclear, the only stable quarterback on the roster last year, Brian Hoyer, wants to see how things play out before making a decision on returning.
Hoyer, who at one point had led the Browns to a 7-4 record, was yanked in favor of Manziel towards the end of the season, and everything for Cleveland has seemed to spiral out of control ever since, losing their last five games of the year.
Having a guy like Gordon, staying out of trouble and on the field, would have been helpful for Cleveland, and perhaps made their quarterback position more desirable for future signal callers looking for a job.
With no Cameron and no Gordon, and a team being a media storm for all the wrong reasons, things probably aren’t at their best for the franchise. Still, the team at one point was out in front of the AFC North last season, and has pieces on defense and on the offensive line to build around.
Gordon just won’t be there to help, and it might be a while before he is back or with any other club.
[H/T: ProFootballTalk]
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