National Football League

Josh Gordon pleads guilty to DWI, awaits NFL rulings

Published Sep. 16, 2014 1:49 p.m. ET

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Suspended Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon pleaded guilty to DWI in North Carolina on Tuesday.

The plea was made through Gordon's attorney. Gordon was in Northeast Ohio, where he's been working at a car dealership while serving a season-long suspension for violating the league's marijuana policy handed down in late August. The DWI arrest came in early July, and Gordon faces a license suspension and fines as part of the plea.

Multiple reports have stated Gordon's current suspension will be cut to 10 games when the NFL and NFL Players Association approve a new drug policy. Negotiations have been ongoing, but nothing is settled.

Gordon posted a picture of himself in uniform on his Instagram page Monday and wrote: "Coming to an arena near you, 11-23-14." The Browns play their 11th game of the season that day at Atlanta, but reports have said the new NFLPA will agreement could also include a two-game suspension for a DUI conviction. Pro Football Talk reports the timing isn't coincidental.

All involved are waiting for answers, but Gordon is no stranger to the process.

Gordon led the NFL in receiving yards last season despite missing two games due to a drug suspension that was appealed from an original four-game suspension. That suspension was for codeine, not marijuana.

Based on reports, Gordon's current suspension stands to be cut because he tested positive for marijuana in 2013 but his suspension didn't start until after the new league year began in March. The timing and length of his current suspension and potential DUI punishment are key for both Gordon and the Browns in the long term because his current contract, which runs through the 2015 season, does not become active for 2014, his third NFL season, until he's reinstated.

Gordon would have to be eligible to play six games this season for 2014 to count as an accrued season toward free agency. Gordon will be making a little over $48,000 per week if he's reinstated for 2014 so beating an additional suspension would be lucrative.

Per terms of the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, in order to accrue a season a player must be on (or should have been on) full-pay status for six or more regular season games. Players are eligible for restricted free agency after three seasons and unrestricted free agency after four seasons.

Gordon is currently barred from the Browns facility and communication with the team, though FOX Sports 1 reported last week that will change if and when a new drug policy is passed.

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