Last year, Josh Gordon played for a subpar Browns team and dominated the league. This week, he will take the field for a competitive Cleveland squad - and he is ready. Gordon will make his season debut for the Browns this Sunday when they travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons. He was suspended for the first 10 games of the season after violating the NFL's substance-abuse regulations.
The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports that Gordon participated in practice with his teammates on Wednesday. He appeared to be in shape and should be on track to play this weekend. Mike Pettine did not downplay any speculation about Gordon's playing time, though he did note that they will try somewhat to ease Gordon back on the practice field.
For his part, Gordon is brimming with confidence and excited to return. According to media reports, he told teammate Nate Burleson before the season to be ready for his return. "He said, 'I plan to lose 10 to 15 pounds, and when I come back I'm going to tear this league up,'" said Burleson.
Burleson also shared some things from his conversations with Gordon now that he is back with the team. "He told me: 'Starting on practice this Wednesday, I'm going to outwork everybody on the field,'" said Burleson.
Expectations are all over the place for Gordon this week. The receiver has undeniable talent, but Cleveland runs the ball much more frequently than they did last season when he set the league on fire. It is worth noting, however, that when Gordon returned from a two-game suspension at the start of last season, Brian Hoyer was the starting quarterback, and Gordon saw 19 targets in the game. He caught 10 of them for 146 yards and a touchdown.
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