The Cleveland Browns have no intentions of releasing their leading wide receiver Josh Gordon after he failed another drug test for marijuana and now faces up to a year-long suspension. The Browns have faith that Gordon can change his ways and that the suspension might not be as long as originally assumed. However, no matter what Gordon is still going to miss time which leaves the Browns shorthanded and looking for help.
At this point all of the free agent talent has been swooped up. All that is left for Cleveland to look at is aging veterans or players with contract demands that do not fit their recent stats. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that the Browns will target either Santonio Holmes or Miles Austin to fill the slot of Gordon while he serves whatever suspension is handed down to him. Rapoport notes that those two veterans are the best available in the small pool of remaining free agents.
Both Holmes and Austin are coming off disappointing seasons. Holmes failed to make an impact with the New York Jets after he returned from his Lisfranc injury. He was cut more for his salary cap hit than production, but his low stats did not help. Austin failed to play much in 2013 after once again dealing with lingering hamstring injuries. This is not the first time he has missed multiple games due to his hamstring which is cause for concern for the Browns.
Cleveland is only looking for short-term help. The team did not draft a wide receiver over the weekend. They passed up on everyone opting to load up on defensive and secondary help. They could have had Sammy Watkins or Miles Austin considering they had known for two weeks that this suspension was coming. However, owner Jimmy Haslam says that Gordon is the future of Cleveland and the is not giving up on what he brings to the field.
"Josh is learning and growing and improving as a person," Haslam said during a speech, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "He's learning how to work hard. He's learning how to be a professional. Josh is a smart young man. All of us have made mistakes when we were that age. We're counting on Josh being a good football player for the Browns for a long time to come."
Fans might be panicking with the potential of Gordon missing the whole season. The Browns just drafted Johnny Manziel to hopefully bring long-term success to the struggling franchise, but right now he has very little to throw to. Nate Burleson and Greg Little are the top receivers to work with. Head coach Mike Pettine is confident the plan in place will work just fine and he has very little concerns regarding the upcoming absence of Gordon.
"We're confident we have a plan," Pettine said. "The situation didn't call for panic. That's something we weren't going to do. I agree with Ray 1,000 percent that we have to build this team so that no one player drives the ship. ...losing players for extended periods of time potentially is part of the game. Successful franchises are the ones that have enough depth built and enough options that they have from scheme-wise, coaching-wise to account for it."
