# Josh Gordon
**Josh Gordon** is an American professional football wide receiver who played in the [National Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-football-league) from 2012 to 2022, leading the league with 1,646 receiving yards in 2013 while missing much of his career under a series of NFL suspensions for violations of the league's substance abuse and performance-enhancing substances policies.[1](https://www.nfl.com/players/josh-gordon/stats/) • [2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) He played for the [Cleveland Browns](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland-browns), New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, and [Tennessee Titans](https://www.edgepedia.org/tennessee-titans).[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position, size | Wide receiver; 6 feet 3 inches, 224 pounds[3](https://www.nfl.com/players/josh-gordon/) |
| Entry to NFL | Selected by Cleveland in the second round of the 2012 supplemental draft; signed a four-year, $5.3 million contract[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) |
| Signature season | 2013: NFL-leading 1,646 receiving yards on 87 catches with 9 touchdowns in 14 games; Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro[4](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2013/receiving.htm) • [5](https://as.com/us/us/2021/03/05/nfl/1614901489_732040.html) |
| Distinctive record | First NFL player with consecutive 200-yard receiving games (237 yards against Pittsburgh, 261 against Jacksonville, 2013)[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) |
| Career totals | 77 games, 63 starts, 252 receptions, 4,284 yards, 21 receiving touchdowns[1](https://www.nfl.com/players/josh-gordon/stats/) |
| Suspensions | Six suspensions overall, five for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) |
| Missed time | 65 of the 128 regular-season games played between 2012 and 2019, including the entire 2015 and 2016 seasons[6](https://as.com/us/us/2020/06/19/nfl/1592525029_832938.html) |
## College career
Gordon played two seasons at Baylor, where as a sophomore in 2010 he totaled 714 receiving yards and a team-leading seven touchdowns.[7](https://www.si.com/nfl/2013/12/13/josh-gordon-cleveland-browns-record) In October 2010 he and a teammate were cited on misdemeanor marijuana possession charges after being found asleep in a car outside a [Taco Bell](https://www.edgepedia.org/taco-bell); the charges against Gordon were later dropped.[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) In July 2011 Baylor suspended him indefinitely from the program for a violation of team rules, later reported as a failed marijuana test.[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) • [8](https://www.thescore.com/story/6874240) He transferred to Utah but never played a down for the Utes, and he entered the NFL's supplemental draft in the summer of 2012 instead.[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k)
## Cleveland Browns, 2012–2018
The Browns used a second-round pick on Gordon in the July 2012 supplemental draft, a route open to players who can no longer remain in college football.[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) • [9](https://as.com/us/us/2017/11/08/nfl/1510142016_752457.html) As a rookie he played all 16 games, starting 13, and caught 50 passes for 805 yards and 5 touchdowns.[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k)
**The 2013 season.** Gordon's second year produced one of the most productive receiving campaigns in league history. Despite missing the first two games of the season under a substance abuse suspension, he led the NFL with 1,646 receiving yards, averaging 117.6 yards per game, with 9 touchdowns.[10](https://www.nfl.com/news/josh-gordon-changes-the-browns-fantasy-landscape-0ap3000000676609) • [11](https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/receiving-yard-leader-2013) In late November and early December 2013 he became the first NFL player to post consecutive 200-yard receiving games, with 237 yards against the Steelers and 261 against the Jaguars.[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) He was named to the [Pro Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/pro-bowl) and earned first-team All-Pro honors.[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) • [5](https://as.com/us/us/2021/03/05/nfl/1614901489_732040.html) He was suspended for the first two games of the 2013 season after testing positive for codeine.[12](https://as.com/us/us/2018/08/18/nfl/1534619026_750304.html) • [16](https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/focus-key-to-josh-gordon-s-future-12404623)
**Suspensions, 2014–2016.** In July 2014 Gordon was arrested in [Raleigh, North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/raleigh-north-carolina), on suspicion of driving while impaired, with a reported blood-alcohol content of .09.[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) In August 2014 he received a one-year suspension for violating the substance abuse policy, reduced to 10 games under the league's new policy; he was reinstated on November 17, 2014, and caught 8 passes for 120 yards in his first game back.[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) In January 2015 he tested positive for alcohol use, and on February 3, 2015, the NFL suspended him for a year without pay.[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) A July 2016 conditional reinstatement allowed him to participate in training camp with a four-game suspension remaining, but in September 2016 he chose to enter a rehab facility rather than return, saying the decision would help him "gain full control of my life"; he was released after 30 days and spent the season on the reserve/suspended list.[2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k)
**Return, 2017–2018.** The NFL conditionally reinstated Gordon on November 1, 2017, and he played five games for [Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland) that season.[13](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28314109/josh-gordon-banned-indefinitely-nfl-peds-substance-abuse) In 2018 he entered a rehabilitation program, missing training camp and the first two preseason games, before rejoining the Browns.[12](https://as.com/us/us/2018/08/18/nfl/1534619026_750304.html)
## Patriots, Seahawks, Chiefs, and Titans
Cleveland traded Gordon to New England during the 2018 season. He played 17 games for the Patriots across 2018 and 2019, catching [Tom Brady](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-brady)'s 500th career touchdown pass, before New England traded him to Seattle.[14](https://www.nfl.com/news/former-chiefs-wr-josh-gordon-signing-to-titans-practice-squad) In December 2019, one day after his fifth game of the season with the Seahawks, the NFL suspended him indefinitely for violating its policies on performance-enhancing substances and substances of abuse.[13](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28314109/josh-gordon-banned-indefinitely-nfl-peds-substance-abuse)
Gordon was conditionally reinstated in December 2020, but the NFL rescinded the reinstatement after he broke its terms, and Seattle released him in March 2021.[3](https://www.nfl.com/players/josh-gordon/) • [2](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k) Reinstated again in 2021, he signed with the [Kansas City Chiefs](https://www.edgepedia.org/kansas-city-chiefs), appeared in 12 games with 7 starts, and finished the season with 5 receptions for 32 yards and one touchdown, his first since 2019.[1](https://www.nfl.com/players/josh-gordon/stats/) • [14](https://www.nfl.com/news/former-chiefs-wr-josh-gordon-signing-to-titans-practice-squad) Kansas City released him in final cuts in 2022, and he joined the Tennessee Titans' practice squad that September, appearing in two games without a reception.[1](https://www.nfl.com/players/josh-gordon/stats/) • [14](https://www.nfl.com/news/former-chiefs-wr-josh-gordon-signing-to-titans-practice-squad) He later played for the XFL's Sea Dragons.[15](https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nfl/news/josh-gordon-career-browns-xfl/jkkkznbfefihtdoihre4bi3d)
## Career assessment
Gordon's career combined elite production in the seasons he played with extended absences. Across 77 regular-season games he recorded 252 receptions for 4,284 yards and 21 touchdowns, but he missed 65 of the 128 regular-season games played between 2012 and 2019, including the entirety of the 2015 and 2016 seasons.[1](https://www.nfl.com/players/josh-gordon/stats/) • [6](https://as.com/us/us/2020/06/19/nfl/1592525029_832938.html) According to Spotrac figures reported in 2021, he earned a little over $5.5 million in his career while paying $3.22 million in fines related to substance abuse and other matters.[5](https://as.com/us/us/2021/03/05/nfl/1614901489_732040.html) His 2013 yardage total of 1,646, achieved in 14 games, remained the league's receiving-yardage lead for that season and stands as the statistical peak of a career repeatedly interrupted by suspension.[4](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2013/receiving.htm)
## References
1. [Josh Gordon Stats Summary, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/players/josh-gordon/stats/)
2. [Josh Gordon suspension timeline, Sporting News](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/josh-gordon-suspension-timeline/1m9gwhfoku9ns1ozy4pktmnj4k)
3. [Josh Gordon Stats, News and Video, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/players/josh-gordon/)
4. [2013 NFL Receiving, Pro-Football-Reference.com](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2013/receiving.htm)
5. [Seahawks liberan a Josh Gordon, AS.com](https://as.com/us/us/2021/03/05/nfl/1614901489_732040.html)
6. [Josh Gordon solicita su reincorporación a la NFL, AS.com](https://as.com/us/us/2020/06/19/nfl/1592525029_832938.html)
7. [Josh Gordon Has Arrived, SI.com](https://www.si.com/nfl/2013/12/13/josh-gordon-cleveland-browns-record)
8. [Timeline: Josh Gordon's NFL odyssey, theScore](https://www.thescore.com/story/6874240)
9. [Josh Gordon: "Me drogué en cada partido de NFL y NCAA", AS.com](https://as.com/us/us/2017/11/08/nfl/1510142016_752457.html)
10. [Josh Gordon changes the Browns fantasy landscape, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/news/josh-gordon-changes-the-browns-fantasy-landscape-0ap3000000676609)
11. [Receiving Yard Leader 2013, StatMuse](https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/receiving-yard-leader-2013)
12. [Josh Gordon está de vuelta, AS.com](https://as.com/us/us/2018/08/18/nfl/1534619026_750304.html)
13. [Josh Gordon banned indefinitely by NFL for PEDs, substance abuse, ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28314109/josh-gordon-banned-indefinitely-nfl-peds-substance-abuse)
14. [Former Chiefs WR Josh Gordon joining Titans' practice squad, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/news/former-chiefs-wr-josh-gordon-signing-to-titans-practice-squad)
15. [Josh Gordon career timeline, Sporting News (Canada edition)](https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nfl/news/josh-gordon-career-browns-xfl/jkkkznbfefihtdoihre4bi3d)
16. [Focus key to Josh Gordon's future](https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/focus-key-to-josh-gordon-s-future-12404623)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › American football players, coaches, and executives › Wide receivers › Active NFL wide receivers › Veteran NFL wide receivers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license