Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon was granted his conditional reinstatement by the NFL last week after spending the entirety of the previous year suspended for his repeated violations of the league’s substance abuse policy.
Those violations have not been much of a secret; since Gordon joined the Browns in 2012, his rookie year remains the only one he’s spent not under the purview of the league’s disciplinary arm. He missed time both in 2013 and 2014, was suspended for all of 2015 and, after another conditional reinstatement a year ago (which also carried with it another four-game suspension), chose to head to rehab instead of back onto the football field.