The Browns have been adamant that they can survive without wide receiver Josh Gordon this season ever since news of Gordon’s possible year-long suspension first broke and it doesn’t look like anything is changing on that front.
During a Wednesday interview on 92.3 The Fan, Farmer admitted that he doesn’t know if the team will be able to adequately replace Gordon because “you’re not just going to go out on the street and find another” superstar wideout. But Farmer also said that he doesn’t think a superstar receiver is something that a team has to have in order to be successful.
“I would say ‘how important are those guys?’'' Farmer said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Name the last big-time receiver to win a Super Bowl. Name the last mega-guy. [Gordon] matters to me because I like the guy and I think he’s a really good player, but at the end of the day, when you look at the teams that have these mega-receivers, name the last guy that won a Super Bowl? ... There are none. The last guy that really helped his team get there was T.O. [Terrell Owens].”
While the team isn’t better with Gordon on the sideline, it doesn’t hurt Farmer’s argument that the Browns went 4-12 with Gordon leading the league in receiving yards. Looking at that list of Super Bowl teams does hammer home the need for a high-quality quarterback in Cleveland, be it Johnny Manziel, Brian Hoyer or someone else.
Farmer said he’s open to trading for a wideout and that the team will “unearth every guy that’s available” to ensure they have a capable receiving corps. That group is unlikely to include Gordon or a reasonable facsimile, but Farmer and the Browns don’t look like they’ll use that as an excuse.
