Browns Expected To Move Josh Gordon To NFI List Until He Returns

According to Ian Rapoport, the Browns are expected to remove WR Josh Gordon from the did not report list by Tuesday in order to prevent this from impacting his free agent status next year.

Rapoport says that the Browns plan is to move Gordon to the reserve/NFI list until he returns to the team. Had Gordon remained on the did not report list by Tuesday, he would have once again been an exclusive rights free agent as opposed to a restricted free agent.

On Sunday, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported that Gordon “is getting closer to returning” to the team, but her source wasn’t able to offer a specific date as to when he could be back.

The Browns have maintained that they expect Gordon to be back with the team once he’s worked through some of the issues he’s dealing with.

Regarding Gordon, Browns GM John Dorsey told 92.3 The Fan this week: “I told you all he would be here, and he will be here.’‘

Adam Schefter previously reported that Gordon is seeking counseling to deal with his mental health and anxiety to ensure he has no setbacks in the future.

Gordon, 26, is a former second-round supplemental pick of the Browns back in 2012. Suspensions forced Gordon to sit out the 2015 and 2016 seasons but he was reinstated in November of last year and finished out the seasons with the Browns.

The Browns re-signed Gordon to a one-year exclusive rights contract worth $790,000. Gordon is in line to be a restricted free agent in 2019.

In 2017, Gordon appeared in five games for the Browns and caught 18 passes for 335 yards receiving and one touchdown.