Suspended Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon is expected to leave rehab on September 21st and he is hopeful the NFL will finally reinstate him after his latest 90-day stint, which began on June 21st.
Gordon, 26, was denied reinstatement back in May but was told he could reapply in the Fall which is exactly what he plans to do, according to former Olympian Tim Montgomery, who trains the wide receiver.
According to Cleveland.com, "Montgomery specializes in working with athletes who have troubled pasts. He was stripped of his records in 2005 after he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs, and served four and half years in prison for a check fraud scheme and selling heroin."
Montgomery told Cleveland.com that he met with Josh Gordon two weeks ago when the receiver was on a day pass from rehab. He says Gordon weighs about 231 pounds now and didn't drop a single pass during their training session at Montgomery's NUMA Speed, located in Gainesville, Florida. He explained that "where Josh comes from, marijuana is considered like a cigarette," but now that he has finally cleaned up his act he is in a completely different place than where he was six months ago.
Per Cleveland.com,
"He's coming," Montgomery told cleveland.com. "I think he's going to be there this season."
"He's been clean, so we're hoping after 90 days he's reinstated and they put him back in the league, which it looks like they're going to do that,'' Montgomery told Cleveland.com.
"From what I've seen, he's in a different place than what he was six, seven months ago,'' Montgomery told the website. "He's come a long, long way from when we first started working together.''
Gordon was conditionally reinstated last Summer and was set to serve a four-game suspension to start the season, but he checked into rehab in September, and hasn't gotten back on the field since. According to Cleveland.com, this is Gordon's fourth known trip to rehab.
When he was eligible to play he was one of the most dynamic receivers in the league, leading the NFL in receiving with 1,646 yards on 87 receptions in 2013. He last played for Cleveland in 2014 and has sat out the past two seasons.