Browns WR Josh Gordon to 'step away' from football, enters in-patient rehab facility

Cleveland Browns wide receiver is entering an in-patient rehabilitation facility, the team announced on Thursday.

Gordon was expected to play in his first regular-season game since December 2014 against the Patriots on Oct. 9. He was suspended for the first four games of this season.

Gordon released the following statement through the Browns:

“After careful thought and deep consideration I’ve decided that I need to step away from pursuing my return to the Browns and my football career to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility. This is the right decision for me and one that I hope will enable me to gain full control of my life and continue on a path to reach my full potential as a person. I appreciate the support of the NFL, NFLPA, the Browns, my teammates, my agent and the community through this extremely challenging process.”

Related players: Terrelle Pryor, Corey Coleman

The saga continues. We applaud Gordon for addressing his issues, but this is a blow to the fantasy owners anxiously awaiting his return. Gordon has always been a risk/reward pick. Obviously, he won't be making his return in Week 5, and it might be a few weeks (or much longer) before he's ready to make another comeback. In the meantime, Terrelle Pryor's value gets a significant bump since he'll serve as the team's WR1 until Corey Coleman returns (and maybe longer, if he keeps playing like he did against the Dolphins). It's also a boost to Duke Johnson's stock, since there will be more targets to go around in Cleveland.