A source told me earlier this week the Cleveland Browns fully expect wide receiver Josh Gordon to be reinstated by the National Football League after he files for reinstatement in early September. 

The source also told me Gordon has a sobriety coach and is taking his life “very serious” which was encouraging to hear. 

Gordon filed for reinstatement back on March but was denied by the league in early May.

He hasn’t seen the field in a regular season game since December of 2014 as he has had multiple violations of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Gordon played in two preseason games last season and against Tampa Bay he showed that he did have some athletic ability left in the tank with two catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. 

Gordon was a rising star in this league after his first two seasons when he caught a total of 137 passes for 2,451 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was selected as a Pro Bowl and first team All-Pro in the 2013 season when he had 87 catches for 1,609 yards and nine touchdowns.

However, his stardom faded fast with multiple suspensions for failed drug tests. It also didn’t help when he was best friends with former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel who was also fighting his own demons, not the greatest combination to hang out with in my opinion. 

After being quiet on social media for months, Gordon has become more active in recent weeks. He’s been posting videos on Snapchat of himself dunking a basketball, showing he still has an athletic ability.

The source told me it was unknown what the Browns will do with Gordon once he’s reinstated.

Former Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins was on AJ Hawk’s podcast and said that Gordon didn’t respect the coaches in Cleveland before Hue Jackson arrived and said that under Jackson’s guidance, Gordon respected him for sticking with him and holding him accountable when anyone else would’ve likely dumped him off. Hawkins said had Gordon not slipped up and had  to go to rehab, Gordon probably would’ve been the best wide receiver in the league. 

If Gordon is indeed reinstated, I don’t think it would hurt the Browns to once again give him another shot. Especially with the state of the wide receiver position in Cleveland, it’s hard to dump off a former All-Pro who is still only 26 years old and still has some athletic abilities left in him I think.

However, the greatest ability is availability and that’s the one thing you can’t trust regarding Josh Gordon. Time and time again, he’s failed the organization and the fan base with his mistakes and immaturity. 

I think admitting himself to a rehabilitation facility last fall finally showed a sign that he may be finally growing up and realizing he needs to get his life in order. 

We’ll see how this situation shakes out in the upcoming weeks.