The Browns will cut receiver Josh Gordon. Unless they don’t.
Even though the Browns have announced that Gordon will be released on Monday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that multiple league insiders believe Gordon will instead be traded.
Other teams have used a similar device in the past, leaking that a player will be released and then, before filing the official paperwork, finding a trade partner. Rarely if ever has a team announced that the player is being released as a precursor to finagling a trade.
Gordon may indeed have trade value, if the Browns opt for that route. He has a base salary of $790,000 this year, and his past issues have left a player who should be in his seventh season still not eligible for even restricted free agency. There’s little or no risk to taking a flier on him, as long as a team is willing to give up a roster spot while his situation is assessed.
So maybe Gordon ends up being worth a conditional seventh-round pick or something along those lines. If/when he ever gets on the field again, he still has the ability to be among the best receivers in the game.
