Skip to main content

Josh Gordon working with Browns first stringers

We're finally back to hearing about Josh Gordon the football player, and life is good.

Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson is working the suspended wideout in with the first string in anticipation of Gordon's Week 5 return against the New England Patriots.

"It's important for him to be out there with those guys," Jackson told Cleveland.com. "It's important for him to be with the ones because I think he's going to be one of our better players. We have to put him out there and see what he is capable of doing."

Cornerback Joe Haden added: "He still looks the exact same and it's just crazy. He looks a little bigger. I don't know how that happened, but he's still out there running around, looking the same, running his routes, floating. It still looks effortless."

Natural ability is a funny thing, and to see Gordon come back from his downtime and directly into the Browns lineup should surprise us more than it will. While some will make the joke that there isn't much competition for Gordon to thwart on his way back to the top, Jackson has done a fine job of developing some targets for Robert Griffin III in his short time as head coach.

Terrelle Pryor is seventh in the preseason with 107 receiving yards while rookie Corey Coleman is set to make his preseason debut Friday against the Buccaneers.

While it's too early to call the projected trio a consistently threatening set of receivers, having a healthy and motivated Gordon in the fold instantly upgrades the team's profile and makes them harder to defend on paper. Jackson will take it.