Unlike Justin Blackmon, suspended Browns receiver Josh Gordon is determined to get back on the field next season. Cleveland quarterback Johnny Manziel, for one, can't wait.
"Yeah, I still talk to Josh every week, so we've been in touch constantly throughout the season," Manziel said Wednesday, per Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer. "I got a chance to see him. I invited him down to the A&M game whenever I went back (after the) Thursday night game (in Cincinnati), so like I said, we've been in constant contact."
Cabot was told by a source that Gordon is doing "outstanding" and remains on track for a return to the NFL after he was suspended indefinitely last February for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. The talented wideout can apply for reinstatement on Feb. 3, 2016.
"I think he's doing the right things," said Manziel. "From everything I've seen, he's been working out each and every day in L.A, working really hard, so he's still here. We still have his rights. He's still a part of this team. I can only speak for me, and I'm excited to have him back. I hope he is back in the Spring for sure."
Gordon was suspended for part of last season, too, spending his down time selling cars in Ohio. A man of many talents, 2013's leading receiver also recently put his artwork on display at an Art Basel event in Miami Beach.
"Since that day that the suspension was announced, in a sense I was kind of relieved," Gordon told ProAthlete TV. "I was distraught and embarrassed, but I was like, 'Man, I've been ripping and running too much, too fast. I needed to slow down. I'm glad that somebody gave me a quick kick in the ass to let me know what's real and what's not."
It was Gordon who told Around the NFL before Super Bowl XLVIII that he hoped the Browns would draft Manziel, saying: "For the media market and a city like Cleveland, which is real small, I think it would be huge to have him. Great for the city, and the environment."
It's intriguing to ponder a Browns offense featuring Manziel throwing passes to Gordon, with Travis Benjamin, Gary Barnidge and Duke Johnson -- and even Terrelle Pryor -- spread across the field.
It's also fair for the Browns to wonder behind the scenes if a Manziel-Gordon combination can keep their act together off the field long enough to make it happen. If they put football first, Cleveland might finally have something to build around.
