The Cleveland Browns were looking for some offensive punch in 2016. With a new head coach who was an offensive mind in Hue Jackson, the franchise just wasn’t scoring enough. The thought process was to bring in a young guy with plenty of speed to take the top off the defense. WR Josh Gordon had been the NFL darling in 2014 gaining 1,646 yards, but missed all of 2015 due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.
Going into the 2014 season, the Browns had a new head coach in Mike Pettine who completed a 7-9-0 season.