Flush Gordon?

Ken Kelly Posted On July 6, 2014

gordon

Over the past couple of years, there’s been no bigger lightning rod for dynasty roster controversy than Josh Gordon, the wide receiver from the Cleveland Browns. Gordon has made a habit of making news on and off the field. Over his first two seasons in the league, only Jerry Rice and Randy Moss posted more than Gordon’s 2,451 receiving yards. Just think about that for a second and when you consider who the Browns have had under center, that’s truly mind boggling. Unfortunately, Gordon has also made headlines with a disturbing pattern of poor choices, leading to the possibility his career may actually be over before it’s really even started.

Let’s start back at the beginning.

We first started covering Gordon back in 2012 when he declared for the Supplemental Draft. Within that article, we noted some transgressions he had while in college. After posting a solid Sophomore campaign that featured 42 catches for 714 yards and seven touchdowns as the second leading receiver for the Baylor Bears, he was suspended indefinitely for repeated violations of team rules. The highlight was a marijuana possession arrest where Gordon was found in the passenger seat of a vehicle next to teammate Willie Jefferson who had passed out in a Taco Bell drive thru.

Gordon subsequently quit the program at Baylor and transferred to Utah, where he was looking to get a fresh start. After sitting out the 2011 season and participating only on the practice squad due to his post-transfer ineligibility, he put his name in for the NFL’s Supplemental Draft apparently due to some financial difficulties for his family.

The Browns and then franchise leader Mike Holmgren saw something special in Gordon and sacrificed their second round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft to secure the rights to him in the 2012 NFL Supplemental Draft. We suggested to the DLF faithful to jump on him due to some comments the Browns had about him being their WR1 in the future, coupled with the fact he was taken so highly. He rewarded our foresight initially with a 50-catch campaign that saw him gain 805 receiving yards and score five touchdowns – that led our own Karl Safchick to jump out on a limb and proclaim Gordon to be the next Dez Bryant. Some ridiculed Karl for this courage, but amazingly, he wasn’t far off.

Last year featured the greatest mixed bag ever as the NFL announced last June that Gordon would be suspended for the first two games of the 2013 season due to violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy and that another failed drug test could result in a one-year suspension. Unwavered by the news, Gordon posted an epic season highlighted by 237 receiving yards in week twelve and 261 yards in week thirteen, marking the first time in NFL history where a wide receiver had consecutive 200-yard receiving games. Gordon finished the 2013 season as the NFL’s leader in receiving yards with a ridiculous 1,646 yards in just 14 games. He was also voted to the Pro Bowl and was named as a First Team All Pro, along with Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions. Gordon was at the top of many off-season dynasty draft boards, despite the risk involved with his off the field behavior.

Unfortunately, trouble has found Gordon again.

[inlinead]On May 9, 2014, reports came out saying Gordon could be suspended for the entire 2014 season because of a second failed drug test. Gordon filed an appeal which will have a court date set later this month. We chronicled the details here. Now comes the news that Gordon was arrested on July 5th on the charge of Driving While Impaired in Raleigh, North Carolina. This prompted one of his teammates to take to Twitter and tell anyone close to Gordon to help him as it wasn’t about football any longer. To make matters worse, news is coming out now that Gordon was bailed out by a convicted felon.

So, now what?

Over the past couple of days, the DLF Forum has been lit up with comments, questions and suggestions on what to do with Gordon in dynasty leagues. First and foremost, let’s stop and recognize the simple fact that we’re watching a dumpster fire in action and hope Gordon does find himself the help he needs to get his life on track. There’s a bit of a controversy over what to actually call this chain of events. Is it stupidity? Is it addiction? Fact is, few of us really know the whole story here, but it’s obvious by now that Gordon has a real hard time making sound choices and that could actually be the understatement of the year. Josh Gordon the person needs help and football (dynasty or real) should be a secondary concern to everyone.

There’s really no possible way he wins his appeal this year and the chances of him playing for the Browns in 2014 are just about the same as mine. In fact, the real question now is if we’ll ever see Gordon again. In short, there are two different scenarios that could play out.

First, Gordon could sit out 2014 under the terms of his suspensions (which is likely going to be indefinite), get his life back in order, show massive improvement in his personal life and return to play somewhere in 2015. I believe the Browns are going to wash their hands of him eventually, much like the Jaguars are likely going to do with Justin Blackmon. That’s really the best case scenario now. Unfortunately, he hasn’t shown the ability to go for any long stretch without getting into trouble and not having the support system of a team to help keep him semi-accountable is going to make things much, much harder for Gordon to toe the line. The optimist would say these transgressions are about marijuana and alcohol (not heroin or cocaine) and that Gordon is simply a misguided youngster. That may be true, but it’s hard to look away from a pattern of behavior so egregious.

The second scenario is far worse and possibly more likely. This would see Gordon fail to change his ways and never play again in the league. After all, it’s not like the NFL is going to be itching to let him back in if they feel there’s a chance he could throw egg on their face. Even if he was reinstated, another violation would most certainly end his career. He has become the ultimate high risk, high reward player – both of those are off the charts.

So, what do we do in dynasty leagues?

Gordon was a “hold” in the strongest sense after his last run-in, but that may have just changed. You may not want to get pennies on the dollar, but that “dollar” may not be anything more than funny money at this point. Every owner is going to have to ask themselves if they’re willing to stash Gordon on their roster for more than a year before seeing him again. Roster spots are precious and Gordon may be just a waste of one at this point. It’s truly amazing how he’s gone from a possible 1.01 pick in a dynasty league to a “stud” stashed on a roster, now to a total flyer – don’t kid yourself if you see him as anything but that at this point. Gordon is nothing more than a talented flyer who you should have no expectations for. The days of building your roster around his probably return are over – you need to move on.

If someone came calling to me with a second round rookie pick, I’d be inclined to really consider it and likely rid myself of the trouble. It’s unfortunate and troublesome, especially when so many teams were counting on Gordon being a key contributor, but it’s time to face reality – Flash Gordon may have just flushed away his career and few would argue with you if you tried to flush him off your roster.

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Ken Kelly

Co-Founder at DynastyLeagueFootball

Ken is a corporate trainer by day an a tireless editor of dynasty content by night. His passion for the World Champion Seattle Seahawks is second only to his love of fantasy football and the dynasty format.

Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK