2 Related

“This afternoon we informed Josh Gordon and his representatives that we are going to release him on Monday,” general manager John Dorsey said in a statement. “For the past six years, the Browns have fully supported and invested in Josh, both personally and professionally and wanted the best for him, but unfortunately we’ve reached a point where we feel it’s best to part ways and move forward. We wish Josh well.”

Gordon posted an Instagram story later Saturday in which he thanked the Browns and their fans.

“Huge s/o to the city of Cleveland. This place will always feel like home to me.. I’m extremely honored and blessed to have been able to grow up and start a life amongst such a passionate and motivated group of individuals.. It’s been a hell of a journey with you guys. I wish all of you nothing but the best.. Thanks to the @ClevelandBrowns organization for having me, I’ll never forget my time here.

“Same book, next chapter..”

Gordon ended the post by writing, “P.S. Anybody need a deep threat WR??”

Gordon is a vested veteran and is not subject to waivers. If he is cut by the Browns, he will become a free agent. If another team trades for Gordon, he will play this season for his minimum salary and can be tendered after this season.

The Browns declared Gordon out earlier Saturday because of a hamstring injury and left him in Cleveland before the team departed for New Orleans to play the Saints on Sunday. Gordon had not been on the injury report all week.

A source told Schefter that Gordon hurt the hamstring at a promotional shoot, not at practice. The event was not sponsored by the team but was for a line of products, possibly clothing, that the receiver was endorsing, the source said.

Gordon, 27, missed three weeks of training camp this summer to undergo counseling and treatment, and he recently said he was in a good place mentally and physically.

He played in last week’s season opener against Pittsburgh, his first appearance in a Week 1 game since 2012, when he was a rookie.

Gordon was expected to have an expanded role this week against the Saints after being targeted only three times in a tie against Pittsburgh. He caught a tying, 17-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against the Steelers but was mostly used as a decoy.

Gordon started the opener despite coach Hue Jackson saying he wouldn’t be on the field for the first snap as punishment for missing camp. Jackson blamed Gordon’s appearance on the first play to a “mistake” and “miscommunication.”

Jackson refused to elaborate on the situation this week, saying he and the coaching staff wanted to “move on.”

Gordon emerged as one of pro football’s most dynamic players in 2013, when he led the league with 1,646 yards receiving and scored nine touchdowns. Gordon missed the 2015 season because of a drug suspension and opted to spend 2016 in rehab.

He sat out the first 11 games last year before returning for Cleveland’s final five games.

The Browns selected Gordon in the 2012 supplemental draft despite his background of drug use in college at Baylor.

1 Related

Roethlisberger missed Wednesday and Thursday practices with a right elbow bruise, and the team listed him as questionable on Friday’s injury report.

“Obviously, him throwing the ball first day back, he was taking it slow and getting back into it, but eventually it’s game day, it’s game time,” wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said. “He’s going to be out there playing with your boys. I think that’s what he’s going to do.”

Coach Mike Tomlin confirmed Roethlisberger practiced but declined to comment on details, deferring to the injury report. Roethlisberger declined comment as he left the locker room.

Backup Josh Dobbs, who took first-team reps Wednesday and Thursday, said he returned to his normal workload in light of Roethlisberger’s participation and has not been told he’s starting. “I will be ready if my number is called,” he said.

Asked if he saw Roethlisberger handing the ball off with his left hand Friday, center Maurkice Pouncey said he’s seen Roethlisberger do all kinds of impressive things over the years.

“He looked really good,” Pouncey said. “No matter if he’s at practice or not, you know how tough he is and the things he plays through. He’s motivated to get back out there.”

Pouncey said he “always” expects Roethlisberger to play unless he takes the field Sunday without him.

To that point, the Players Coalition penned an op-ed in The Players’ Tribune last week that implored fans, media, politicians and owners to stop focusing solely on who is protesting during the anthem and to “refocus attention back on the systemic issues that plague the lives of millions of Americans.”

They wrote: “The Coalition’s actions are motivated by a deep patriotism, a desire to ensure that the realities of this country match its stated ideals, and that we live up to America’s foundational promise of opportunity and equality for all.”

Watson, Saints linebacker Demario Davis (who is also a member of the coalition) and Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan joined Goodell, Benson and Saints president Dennis Lauscha as they spent a full day sitting in on bail hearings and meeting with public defenders, former prisoners and leaders of grassroots organizations dedicated to criminal justice reform.

Watson and Davis already lent their support to a law that was passed in Louisiana earlier this year, restoring voting rights to felons on parole or probation after five years.

Other topics discussed Tuesday included Louisiana’s law that juries need only 10 out of 12 votes for a life-sentence conviction, and the unfairness of a user-funded court system when it comes to setting bail.

At one point, according to reports from NOLA.com and The New Orleans Advocate, Benson offered up office space in Benson Tower to Syrita Steib-Martin, the executive director of Operation Restoration, which helps women and girls re-entering society after prison stints.

“I thought it was great, man,” Watson said. “The [NFL’s] planning with the coalition, as well as in conjunction with the Saints … was very constructive.

“They have their viewpoints, which are varied, as well as ours are. But they’ve been more than willing to converse with players, to have Roger there and to have Mrs. Benson there … so it just shows that there are issues that we all can care about, no matter what our occupation is, no matter what our political bent is. It’s not really about that. It’s about people.”

Meanwhile, in Arizona, Cardinals safeties Antoine Bethea and Tre Boston and defensive tackle Corey Peters attended the meeting with the governor, which was organized by Bidwill to begin a dialogue about criminal justice reform that focused, in part, on the overpopulation of the state’s prisons.

Bethea said “there was some real good dialogue” between the players and the governor’s side.

“We definitely voiced our opinion on some things,” Bethea said — as did Ducey.

“He had some great ideas,” Bethea said. “Some great ideas. Already had some programs implemented. The teamwork, us teaming up in the near future in being able to do some good things. I’m excited for it.”

Boston said the most important aspect of the meetings was both sides understanding each other.

“It’ll only get better with more dialogue, with more understanding of what we went in there for,” Boston said. “The more I can talk to you, let you understand how I grew up, how I lived, the more I can kind of feel for it.”

Boston said discussing prison overpopulation was a “good first step.”

He hopes that Arizona can get to a point where it’s shutting down prisons instead of continuing to fill them at a high rate. In 2016, according to the Department of Justice, Arizona had the fourth-highest incarceration rate in the country.