Josh Gordon

Joshua Caleb Gordon (born April 13, 1991) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent.

Nicknamed "Flash", he previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons.

Gordon was born to Elaine and Herald Gordon in Houston, Texas, on April 13, 1991, and he has two brothers.

Gordon is of Haitian descent.

Gordon attended Lamar High School in Houston, where he played football, basketball, and ran track.

He played basketball as a sophomore.

In football, he caught 20 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns as a junior.

As a senior, he was named first-team All-District 20-5A after totaling 25 receptions for 531 yards (21.2 average) and nine touchdowns.

He also competed in track & field as a senior, where he ran a leg on the Lamar 4 × 100m and 4 × 200m relay squads, helping them capture the state title in both events with times of 42.69 seconds and 1:30.43 minutes, respectively.

During the college recruitment period, Gordon was targeted by Baylor, Houston, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas Tech.

According to Rivals.com, Gordon was ranked as a 3-star wide receiver, while Scout.com rated him as a 2-star at the position.

Gordon accepted an athletic scholarship to play football for Baylor University.

Although he received multiple Division I offers, his choice of Baylor was easy due to his supervised probation which required him to not leave the state of Texas.

However, in October 2010, during his sophomore year, he and teammate Willie Jefferson were found asleep in a local Taco Bell drive-through lane.

Police found marijuana in Jefferson's car.

Jefferson, who was driving, was kicked off the team due to it being his second violation, but Gordon was only suspended.

In July 2011, Gordon was suspended indefinitely by head coach Art Briles for later failing a drug test and testing positive for marijuana.

In August 2011, Gordon transferred to the University of Utah, but did not play during the 2011 season after declaring too late for the 2011 Supplemental Draft.

Gordon played college football at Baylor University and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2012 NFL Supplemental Draft.

Throughout his career, Gordon has been lauded for his on-field production, but has also faced several suspensions for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.

Gordon was taken in the second round of the 2012 Supplemental Draft by the Cleveland Browns.

On July 16, 2012, Gordon signed a four-year, $5.3 million deal with the Browns.

Gordon finished among the top rookie wide receivers in the 2012 draft class.

He recorded 50 catches, 805 yards, and five touchdowns in the 2012 season.

Gordon scored his first NFL touchdown against the New York Giants in Week 5, where he finished with two catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns.

Gordon had his first 100-yard game against the Oakland Raiders in Week 13, where he finished with six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown.

Gordon had a then career-high of eight catches against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14.

He finished his rookie season with 50 receptions for 805 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.

Gordon had a breakout season in 2013 by leading the league in receiving yards, which earned him Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors.

On June 7, 2013, the NFL announced that Gordon would be suspended for the first two games of the 2013 season due to violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.

He returned from his suspension and had ten receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown in the 31–27 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

In Week 8, against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had five receptions for 132 receiving yards and a touchdown.

In Week 11, against the Cincinnati Bengals, he had five receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown.

In Week 12, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Gordon had 237 receiving yards, and 261 the following week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the first time in NFL history that a wide receiver had back-to-back regular season games with at least 200 receiving yards.

The following game, he had seven receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown against the New England Patriots.

Over the next four years, however, Gordon only played 11 games for the Browns due to his substance abuse suspensions and missed the entirety of the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

He was traded to the New England Patriots in 2018, but voluntarily left the active roster amid a potential indefinite suspension from the NFL.

Gordon returned the following season with the Patriots and Seattle Seahawks before further substance abuse violations led to his suspension in 2020.

Reinstated the next year, he spent one season each with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans.

Gordon joined the Seattle Sea Dragons for one season in 2023.