Josh Gordon isn't ready to walk away from the lure of football.
The Browns wideout is applying for NFL reinstatement from suspension on Wednesday, Gordon's business manager, Michael Johnson, told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Gordon hasn't appeared in a regular-season game since 2014. The 25-year-old pass-catcher voluntarily entered an in-patient rehabilitation facility last October to "gain full control of my life."
Placed on indefinite suspension, Gordon must plead his case once again to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. He was conditionally reinstated by the league last summer before entering in-patient rehab in September.
"Josh is living with me and is in the best place mentally that he has been in dating back years before entering the NFL," Johnson told ESPN. "He has taken the proper steps to treat his issues and has followed a very strict protocol that the league and our team here has laid out for him. He's also in the best shape of his life and feels even better than he did when he had his breakout year in 2013. This will be a special year for Josh and we are all very proud of the way he has taken the necessary steps to turn his life around."
Even if Gordon is reinstated, the question is whether the Browns want to go down this road again.
Coach Hue Jackson told reporters last season that the team was looking ahead without Gordon, saying: "We wish him well. We need to close that chapter right now. We're moving on."
The team's frustration is understandable after Gordon missed the entire 2015 season before Goodell reinstated him last July, with a four-game suspension to start the season. Banned for 43 of his last 48 games, the receiving-yardage leader from 2013 has let down the Browns -- and their fans -- for years.
It's possible that Goodell won't budge this time around. If he's truly healthy, though, Cleveland could use Gordon, who remains one of the most unusual and gifted receivers in the game.
In a brief appearance during the preseason last summer, Gordon had his way with defenders and looked like the best player on the field for Cleveland.
We'll find out more about where the organization stands with the talented-but-unreliable wideout when Jackson and Executive VP of Football Operation Sashi Brown meet with the media during this week's NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
