Josh Gordon Reportedly Will Be Activated by Browns for Week 13 vs. Chargers

The Cleveland Browns will reportedly activate Josh Gordon for the their Week 13 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. That will clear the wide receiver to play for the first time since Dec. 21, 2014, following his continued suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

"I felt pretty good," Gordon said Friday. "I think I knocked that rust off prior to getting back into the building, so that was what I was looking forward to do."

Gordon added that he has been working out extensively during his suspension.

"I have been training from almost a year straight prior to coming back, so I have been working out pretty crazy," he said, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

"Even getting here, the strength and conditioning staff has been on top of it. They have exhausted every resource as far as recovery and things of that nature—massages, treatments and everything I need to do to stay on top of it. I have to make sure I do it. For the most part, I am in real good shape."

Gordon, 26, was one of the most dynamic receivers in the NFL between the 2012 and 2013 seasons, catching 137 passes for 2,451 yards and 14 touchdowns in 30 games. But his issues with substance abuse kept him out of the league since 2014, and Gordon admitted in an interview with Clay Skipper of GQ to playing in NFL games in the past under the influence of alcohol and marijuana:

"Even before I was getting tested for alcohol, prior to my DWI in 2014, I would take the biggest bong rip I could. And try to conceal all the smell off all my clothes. I'd be dressed up to go to the game. A bunch of guys smoke weed before the game. But we're not talking about them.

"I would have these little pre-made shots. I used to love Grand Marnier. I could drink it down smooth. I could usually drink a lot of it. But if it wasn't that, it might be a whiskey or something. And I would drink probably like half a glass, or a couple shots to try and warm my system up, basically. To get the motor running. That's what I would do for games."

He said he had something in his system for every NFL game, and Gordon spent over 100 days in rehab while he was suspended.

According to Rapoport, Browns head coach Hue Jackson had given up on Gordon before deciding, along with the organization, to give him another chance.

"Let's be honest, what this young man dealt with is a disease," Jackson said.

"That just shows the humanity of it,'' Gordon said of Jackson's change of heart, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. "People can make a turn. People can make a change at any given moment just depending on the situation and the variables in place."