It seems that Browns star wide receiver Josh Gordon and quarterback Johnny Manziel just can’t stay out of trouble. On Friday night, Manziel threw a huge party at his house and invited some of his teammates. After a long night of partying Johnny Football style, Gordon and Manziel were no-shows to the team’s walk-through on Saturday morning. This was after Gordon showed up late to practice the day before wearing the wrong jersey, according to ESPN. As a result, he was punished with a one game suspension, meaning he will not play for the rest of the season since the Browns will not make it into playoffs. Gordon is not happy with the suspension, especially since it could affect his free agency status after the season is over. If he only gets paid for the games in which he’s played, he will be one short of the six games required to enter free agency status after the season. Gordon even tried to fly to Baltimore with the team for Sunday’s game but was sent home. Manziel, on the other hand, is currently on injured reserve for a hamstring injury that he sustained during last week’s game against the Carolina Panthers. Being on injured reserve, the team requires that he go to treatment for his injury if he chooses not to attend the walk-through. Manziel did not show up to either. I’m sure the Browns were none too pleased when they had to send security to go find their hungover quarterback at his house because he wasn’t picking up his phone. He eventually made it to treatment but was hit with a fine for being late.
Josh Gordon was already walking on eggshells after being suspended for ten games this season due to violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He has been back for all of five games and is now facing suspension once again. Gordon undoubtedly has star potential but he keeps letting his off-field issues take away from all the positives he brings to the team. Likewise, Johnny Manziel is more famous for his partying than his football skills. Once a Heisman Trophy winner in college, his play has been less than satisfactory since being drafted to the pros. On top of that, he is constantly making headlines for being a reckless party animal and is portrayed as someone who puts having fun above his career. Manziel has been trying to change that perception of him. On Tuesday, he said to the media, “I’m not the Johnny Manziel that came in here a year ago. It’s been a year of growing up for me. This is a job for me now. I have to take this a lot more seriously than maybe I did at first still going home and doing whatever I was doing in the offseason.” Actions speak louder than words, Johnny.
The Browns, who started their season better than most people expected, unfortunately have to end on a sour note. After sitting on top of their division just a month ago, they will be missing the playoffs yet again. Even worse, their most important players are unfocused and don’t seem to care. If Gordon and Manziel don’t get their act together, it won’t be much of a surprise if they are off the roster come next season.
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