Josh Gordon, Wes Welker could have suspensions reduced if NFL, union re-write drug policy on crazy timeline
By Andy Behrens4 hours agoRoto Arcade
On Thursday morning, we learned that suspended Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Gordon — the man who led the NFL in receiving yards last season (1,646) — was contemplating anemployment opportunity with a car dealership.
One of the most dangerous playmakers in football, a 23-year-oldhighlight machine, was possibly going to spend a year hawking F-series pickups to the good people of northeast Ohio.
But on Thursday night, Gordon's story took yet another turn. Here's the latest via Pro Football Talk:
As Mike Florio reported on NBC, Welker, Gordon and potentially other players in the midst of suspensions could benefit from a new drug testing policy that the owners and players could agree upon soon.
Essentially, the drug for which Welker was suspended would reportedly be reclassified as a substance that would not trigger a suspension for a first-time offense. Gordon's suspension could potentially be modified or erased if the threshold for a positive marijuana test is increased, as perhaps it should be.
The Washington Post's Mark Maske soon confirmed PFT's report. So this thing, it appears, is real. But as Maske also reported, the league and the NFLPA may have to agree to massive, sweeping policy changes "before Sunday’s league-wide slate of games is played for modifications to the Gordon and Welker suspensions to be considered."
And even if the league and union do come together on the zillions of details involved in this theoretical new agreement, we have no guarantee that Welker or Gordon (or Justin Blackmon, or anyone else) would actually be impacted.
Here's a relevant nugget:
And so we wait. While waiting, we're adding and re-adding Gordon in huge numbers...
...and justifiably so. Again, we're talking about a potential 1,600-yard receiver. But he's also potentially a guy who wants to put you in a 2015 Fusion.
So there's a wide range of outcomes with Gordon. He's clearly worth a speculative add, while the NFL and NFLPA discuss a complex and much-needed agreement. Just remember, Gordon and Welker aren't the focus of any negotiations; the league and union aren't overly concerned with our fantasy plans.
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