BEREA, Ohio – The Cleveland Browns are one step closer to having wide receiver Josh Gordon on the field.
The Browns have officially moved Gordon to the active list off the non-football injury list, which will allow the 2013 Pro Bowler to participate in walk-throughs beginning Saturday, a move that coincides with what head coach Hue Jackson said in his conference call on Friday.
“Josh Gordon is going to go into the second phase of the process that we have him on. He will definitely be involved in walk-throughs,” Jackson said. “He is definitely getting into the next process for us. He will definitely be involved in the walk-throughs and doing some other things.”
Gordon had left the team prior to the opening of training camp to get help with his mental health and returned to the team last week but was not able to participate in walk-throughs or practice after being place on the NFI list.
Jackson did not have a timetable as to when Gordon would be a full participant in practice or play in a game, but he did say last week that he would like to see Gordon play in the preseason finale against the Detroit Lions, but that the ultimate goal is the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 9.
“If there is a chance against Detroit at the end, it would be great,” Jackson said last week. “If not, my real goal is can we get him up and running by the time that we play Pittsburgh? I think that is really important.”
There is reason to be excited if Gordon can ever regain the form that saw him catch 87 passes for a franchise-record 1,646 yards in 2013, despite missing two games. But being on the field has been the problem throughout Gordon’s career, as he has played in just 10 games for the Browns in the past four seasons combined.
When Gordon gets back on the field, he will team with Jarvis Landry, whom the Browns acquired this past offseason. Landry, who is coming off a year in which he led the NFL in receptions in 2017 with 112 and has averaged 105 catches per season over the past three years, is looking forward to playing with Gordon.
“I am excited to play with him, excited to work with him, and compete with him,” Landry said last week. “That’s what’s going to help us get to the level we need to be at to win games.”
Information from ESPN’s Ryan Isley was used in this report.