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Veteran wide receiver Josh Gordon has said that if the Cleveland Browns were to ask him, he’d be packing up and moving to Ohio immediately.
Gordon, who is currently playing for the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons, appeared on the February 27 episode of BetJack Ohio’s podcast with hosts Grant Puskar and Phil Taylor, who gave him a hypothetical question to ponder.
“One question. So say you’re chillin’ in Seattle, wherever you’re at,” Puskar said. “You pick up your phone, [general manager] Andrew Berry and [owner] Jimmy Haslam are on the other end and say, ‘JG, come catch passes from DW4.’ I think Cleveland fans wanna hear it, what’s your response?”
After a pause, Gordon quipped: “Do you know a good Realtor?” to laughs from the hosts. Then, more seriously, he added, “I’m coming back to Ohio, for sure. For real. I like Ohio, for sure.”
What would Josh Gordon say if Andrew Berry or Jimmy Haslam called him and asked him to come back to Cleveland?
“Do you know a good realtor? I’m coming back to Ohio.”
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Quarterback Deshaun Watson Seemingly in Favor of Josh Gordon’s Coming Back to the Cleveland Browns
A few hours after BetJack Ohio tweeted a video clip from the interview, current Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson liked the clip, leading to speculation that he would be in favor of pairing with Gordon, who hasn’t made extensive contributions to an NFL team since 2018, when he was with the New England Patriots and Browns. His most recent appearance in an NFL uniform was Week 5 of last year, when he played only six snaps for the Tennessee Titans.
The pro bowl wide receiver is currently playing for the Seattle Sea Dragons in the XFL after a 10-year career in the NFL that included seven seasons with the Browns, though he received his Super Bowl ring from the New England Patriots. His tenure in the NFL, however, was full of ups and downs. Gordon didn’t actually play in that Super Bowl. He was facing an indefinite suspension from the NFL in late December 2018 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Before the Patriots started their playoff run, he stepped away from the team to focus on his mental health, according to the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
However, after their Super Bowl win in 2019, Patriots owner Robert Craft told ESPN that Gordon would receive a Super Bowl ring for his contributions to the team’s success that season.
In 2013, Gordon led the league in receiving yards and was a first-team All-Pro selection. But he would be suspended several times in career for issues related to substance issue.
So far through two games with the Sea Dragons, Gordon has had 107 receiving yards, averaging 15.3 yards per reception, and has had one touchdown. Their next game is Saturday, March 4.
Josh Gordon Owns Up to ‘Past Mistakes’
In a 2021 interview with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Gordon said that he had gotten clean and he was working out in the hopes of getting signed again with a team. He admitted that “some days and some weeks are easier than others” in terms of his sobriety, but he knows he can be an elite wide receiver again.
“Despite my past mistakes and my career not going as well as I planned it for myself, it doesn’t mean that I gotta stop and hang the cleats up,” said Gordon, adding, “Playing football is my dream. I’m still physically able to do it at a high level, so I want to be able to contribute to the game, allow myself that freedom and that happiness that I know so much and that’s playing ball, making people happy. Bringing them joy through my abilities is one of the best feelings, so I can’t just give that up. I’m going to keep pursuing, keep trying and keep hacking away at stuff.”
Gordon continued, “I learned at a certain point in time to cut out a lot of BS in my life. You’re getting a guy that’s focused … and most importantly, you’d be getting a great wide receiver. … That’s what I work for every day, to stay consistent at that level, that high level that we all know the NFL is and to be one of the top-tiered players at my position each and every day that I show up to work. That’s how I approach it, that’s how I see myself.”
The Browns added wide receiver Amari Cooper in 2022, and he amassed over 1,100 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns. But beyond Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones, who notched over 800 receiving yards but just three touchdowns in 2022, the Browns are sparse at the wide receiver position.