The NFL Players Association determined Josh Gordon has successfully completed his NFL-monitored treatment program and has recommended to the league that he be reinstated, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Gordon, 30, is awaiting final approval from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, but he is vaccinated against COVID-19 and said to be ready to play.
The veteran wide receiver submitted his reinstatement letter to Goodell in July.
The NFL suspended Gordon indefinitely in December 2019 for violations of its policies on substance abuse and performance-enhancing substances. That was Gordon’s sixth suspension since the 2013 season and his fifth for some form of substance abuse, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Gordon was conditionally reinstated by the NFL in December 2020 and was set to practice with the Seattle Seahawks in the final two weeks of the regular season before his reinstatement was rescinded in January. Sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler at the time that Gordon had experienced a setback in his recovery from substance abuse.
After his conditional reinstatement to the NFL was rescinded, Gordon joined the Zappers of the Fan Controlled Football league in February to play with former Cleveland Browns teammate Johnny Manziel. Gordon’s return to football ended when the Zappers were eliminated in the playoffs.
Appearing on The Adam Schefter Podcast in March, Gordon said he was training and had a good support system with his family and good friends, including Manziel, who he said gave him “motivation” and showed him “how important these small details in life are.”
Selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 2012 supplemental draft, Gordon has appeared in more than six games only once since the 2013 season, when he led the NFL with 1,646 receiving yards.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson contributed to this report.