So, here we are again. The year is 2021, and Josh Gordon was just picked up by the ~~SC4_Skippers~~ Kansas City Cheifs. It’s been a long and tenuous career for Gordon, who much like Charles Rodgers and Ricky Williams before him, choose to protest the NFL’s archaic rules about weed by flushing his playing career down the pooper.

In honor of this brave soul’s near decade-long struggle, let’s take a look back at his courageous exploits via a timeline of indiscretions.

NCAA

Gordon told GQ that his substance abuse problems started in middle school, but his first documented suspension came in college.

BAYLOR – Gordon’s sophomore season at Baylor, he was suspended after being charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession after he and teammate Willie Jefferson were found asleep in a car at 2:00 a.m. in the drive-thru lane of a Taco Bell. Oof. The ol’ Taco Bell pass out.

UTAH – Ahead of his junior season at Baylor, Gordon was suspended again after failing a drug test and made the brave decision to leave Texas for a more open-minded setting – he transferred to the University of Utah. There he began experimenting with cocaine, like you do when your body is a temple.

“Look, I was at Utah for 12 years, and we had a lot of great players during that time, but Josh Gordon’s the best player I ever saw step foot on that practice field. I think every single player on our team would agree with me.”

– Former Utah wide receivers coach, Aaron Roderick

Of course, he never actually played a game for Utah. He failed another drug test and returned to his hometown of Houston, where he sold drugs to support his family.

NFL

The Cleveland Browns selected Gordon in the second round of the 2012 NFL supplemental draft. He would play his only full 16-game season that rookie year in Cleveland. He finished with 50 catches for 805 yards and scored five touchdowns. A pretty promising start.

2013 – Gordon was suspended by the NFL for the first two games of the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He returned in week 3, catching 87 passes for a league-leading 1,646 yards. That and his nine touchdowns earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl.
2014 – Just a few weeks ahead of training camp, Gordon was arrested for DWI and initially suspended for the entire season. In September, his suspension was reduced to 10 games and he returned to play five games for the Browns, catching 24 passes for 303 yards. Cleveland then suspended him for the final game of the year for violating team rules.
2015 – Josh Gordon was suspended for the entire season after violating the NFL’s antiquated substance abuse policy.
2016 – Josh applied for reinstatement, a request that was denied two months later when he failed a drug test. Six months later he was conditionally reinstated but was told he had to sit out the first four games of the season. One week before he was set to return, Gordon entered an in-patient rehab facility and missed the entire 2016 season.
2017 – Starting the whole process over again, Gordon again applied for reinstatement in March but was denied. He was again conditionally reinstated that November and played in the Browns’ final five games, catching 18 passes for 335 yards with a touchdown.
2018 – He played one game for Cleveland before being traded to the New England Patriots. He played 11 games for the Pats that year, catching 40 passes for 720 yards with three touchdowns. Then Gordon announced that he would be taking a leave of absence from the team to focus on his mental health. Just a short time later, it was announced that Gordon had once again been indefinitely suspended by the NFL for “violating the terms of his reinstatement under the league’s substance-abuse policy.” New England went on to win the Super Bowl that season, which earned Josh Gordon a ring.

2019 – Gordon was reinstated by the NFL and he played six games for the Patriots, catching 20 passes for 287 yards with a touchdown, before being placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. He was waived by New England eight days later. A day after being let go by the Pats, Gordon was signed by the Seattle Seahawks for the remainder of the 2019 season. He caught seven passes in the five games, and in mid-December, Gordon was indefinitely suspended once again for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
2020 – He re-signed with Seattle in the offseason as a free agent and was conditionally reinstated on December 3, 2020. However, that reinstatement was rescinded after the NFL discovered he’d violated the terms of his reinstatement.
2021 – The NFL has informed wide receiver Josh Gordon that he is being reinstated, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Friday, with the former All-Pro expected to be eligible to play as early as Week 4.

SC LEAGUE

Gordon’s history in SC League is not all that varied. In fact, he’s spent more time on one particular team here, than he has with any of his College or Pro teams…

2012 – A Modest Start

After going undrafted his rookie season, he made his Fantasy Debut with Ta Ta Ta Timbo, picked up via Waivers (at the expense of La Rod Stephens-Howling). Added just ahead of the Week 7 Rivalry game, Gordon helped McLeod knock off C Tan vs the World. But the marriage was short-lived, as Timmy dropped him the following week to pick up tight end Brandon Myers. Gordon would spend the next couple weeks unclaimed until Tansuche took a flier on him via Free Agency, in exchange for one Titus Young.

He would end the season on Chris’ squad, with a final Fantasy Total of 1615 for the year.

2013 – The Pinnacle

During his sophomore year, for which he spent the first two weeks suspended, Gordon would earn his only Pro Bowl bid on the roster of Kronner’s Team Winterfell. Drafted with the 10th pick in the 10th round (118th), Gordon would amass 3264 points over 13 games with the inflated 2013 scoring rules. A staggering 251 points PER GAME. Along with Calvin Johnson and DeSean Jackson, Team Winterfell put together maybe the most statistically dominant WR trio in league history (2003 doesn’t exist).

Team Winterfell entered the 2013 playoffs as the #2 seed, knocking out The Fighting Suh (Byrd) in the first round, and then getting pummeled in the 2nd round by #6 seed Nacho Team, thanks in large part to the Stafford/Calvin connection playing in a blizzard at Philly that week…

2014 – The Begining of an Ugly Relationship

The Jon Jones Self-Abuse Tour gets its roots here. The NFL suspends Gordon for ~~the season~~ 10 games (the Browns add an 11th). The Skippers draft Gordon in the 14th round and he finishes the year with only 24 grabs for 303 yards.

2015 – A Break

SUSPENDED FOR SEASON

2016 – The Rebound?

After a full year off, Jones was ready to be hurt again. This time he took Gordon in the 7th round (82nd). Gordon was initially suspended for 4 games, but just before he was to come back, he instead entered rehab and missed the rest of the year, never playing a snap.

2017 – A Good Deed in a Weary World

This time around, Gordon – who was again suspended for the season, appeals, gets reinstated, and is immediately claimed off waivers by the Skippers (Nov. 15, 2017). Jones, who is 2-8 at the time, now has Gordon for the final three weeks of the season. Over these games, the Skippers go 3-0, pulling them up to a 5-8 finish, and forever cementing Jon’s love affair. Matt Alley, Kaiser and Trigger would all fall victim to Gordon’s 161 ppg average over that three-week span.

2018 – The Rival

The rivalry between the Skippers and Murphy’s Inn-ies intensifies here, as Jason drafts Josh Gordon in the 5th round, only to see the Browns trade him to New England after week one. Gordon finishes with solid, but unspectacular numbers, playing 12 games and averaging 101 per. Jones seethes.

2019 – The Return

Not to be without his beloved again, Jon drafts Gordon in the 7th round and Gordon is again suspended, and again reinstated. This time playing in five games and totaling only 387 points for the year.