Josh Gordon

Early years

Gordon attended Lamar High School in Houston, Texas, where he played football, basketball, and ran track. He played basketball as a sophomore. In football, he caught 20 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns as a junior. As a senior, he was named first-team All-District 20-5A after totaling 25 receptions for 531 yards (21.2 average) and nine touchdowns.

He also competed in track & field as a senior, where he ran a leg on the Lamar 4 × 100m and 4 × 200m relay squads, helping them capture the state title in both events with times of 42.69 seconds and 1:30.43 minutes, respectively.

Gordon is of Haitian descent.

During the college recruitment period, Gordon was targeted by Baylor, Houston, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas Tech. According to Rivals.com, Gordon was ranked as a 3-star wide receiver while Scout.com rated him as a 2-star at the position.

College career

Gordon accepted an athletic scholarship to play football for Baylor University. However, in October 2010, during his sophomore year, he and teammate Willie Jefferson were found asleep in a local Taco Bell drive-through lane. Police found marijuana in Jefferson's car. Jefferson, who was driving, was kicked off the team due to it being his second violation, but Gordon was only suspended.

In July 2011, Gordon was suspended indefinitely by head coach Art Briles, for later failing a drug test and testing positive for marijuana.

In August 2011, Gordon transferred to the University of Utah, where he sat out the 2011 season after declaring too late for the 2011 Supplemental Draft.

2012 season

Gordon was taken in the second round of the 2012 Supplemental Draft by the Cleveland Browns. On July 16, 2012, Gordon signed a four-year, $5.3 million deal with the Browns.

Gordon finished among the top rookie wide receivers in the 2012 draft class. He recorded 50 catches, 805 yards, and 5 touchdowns in the 2012 season. Gordon scored his first career touchdown against the New York Giants, where he finished the game with 2 catches for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns. Gordon had his first 100-yard game against the Oakland Raiders in Week 13, where he finished with 6 catches for 116 yards and 1 touchdown. Gordon had a career-high of 8 catches against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14.

2013 season

On June 7, 2013, the NFL announced that Gordon would be suspended for the first two games of the 2013 season due to violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. During Week 12, Gordon had 237 receiving yards and in Week 13, he had 261 receiving yards. Gordon's accomplishment marked the first time in NFL history that a wide receiver had back-to-back games with at least 200 receiving yards. On December 26, 2013, he was named the Cleveland Chapter PFWA Player of the Year following the season.

On December 27, 2013, Gordon was voted to his first Pro Bowl selection. Gordon finished the 2013 season as the NFL's leader in receiving yards, with 1,646 yards and was named first-team All-Pro alongside Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions.

2014 season

On July 5, 2014, Gordon was arrested for driving while impaired in Raleigh, North Carolina.

On August 27, 2014, Gordon acknowledged that the NFL suspended him for one year for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. On September 19, 2014, his suspension was reduced to 10 games amidst the new NFL drug policy. Gordon was officially reinstated on November 17.

On December 27, 2014, exactly one year removed from being selected into the Pro Bowl, the Browns suspended Gordon from the final game of the 2014 season due to a violation of team rules.

Due to Gordon's suspensions, he only played five games in the 2014 season and caught 24 passes for 303 yards with no touchdowns.

2015 season

Gordon was suspended for the entire 2015 season due to violating the league's substance abuse policy.

In January 2015, Gordon faced another year-long suspension due to testing positive for alcohol use. Gordon entered the NFL's substance abuse program after pleading guilty to a driving while impaired charge in September 2014 and was prohibited from consuming alcohol during his time in the program. Gordon was officially suspended from the NFL for one year on February 3, 2015 and was not eligible to return until the start of the 2016 season.

2016 season

On January 20, 2016, Gordon applied to the league for reinstatement. His request was denied in March when it was reported that he had failed another drug test.

On July 25, 2016, Gordon was reinstated by the NFL. He was allowed to participate in training camp but was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 regular season.

On September 29, 2016, Gordon left the Cleveland Browns to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility. He was one week away from reinstatement to the NFL, serving his previous sentence of four regular season games. In a press statement, Gordon wrote, "After careful thought and deep consideration I've decided that I need to step away from pursuing my return to the Browns and my football career to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility. This is the right decision for me and one that I hope will enable me to gain full control of my life and continue on a path to reach my full potential as a person. I appreciate the support of the NFL, NFLPA, the Browns, my teammates, my agent and the community through this extremely challenging process."

On March 1, 2017, Gordon again applied to the league for reinstatement, but was denied on May 11, 2017.

NFL records

Browns franchise records