Josh Gordon’s new route through life John Kuhn Jersey , a straight and sober one, is rewarding him every day.
Given another chance to revive an NFL career he nearly threw away due to addiction, Gordon is embracing moments he once ignored.
”Right now for me it’s a bunch of the small victories day to day, just being able to come to work,” the Browns wide receiver said Tuesday while reflecting on his dark past. ”Like the little, little things. Having some structure in my life.”
Gordon is counting his blessings – football, fatherhood and fame – as the former Pro Bowler, who erupted on the league in 2012, continues a twisted comeback that looked hopeless at some many junctures over the past few years.
Now 27, Gordon, who revealed following his most recent drug suspension last season that he had wandered streets in Florida in search of his next fix, is living in the moment. He’s savoring small victories.
”To me, it’s just like getting up and not having to worry about whether or not you have some type of security or a place to stay,” he said.
”Spending time with my daughter. ”I didn’t have much time Mike Alstott Jersey , didn’t get to spend any time with my family like that in the past. Being there with friends. Working toward the future. Those are things I look forward to doing, and I take pride in and joy in.
”Just coming to work. Being able to talk to guys, see guys’ expressions, interact with them … a lot of little things. I take a lot of joy in that.”
Gordon has found inner peace. The Browns are hoping he can keep it.
Because of his off-field issues, Gordon has played in just 10 games since 2013. He returned for Cleveland’s final five games last season, and showed some of the flashes that helped him lead the league in yards receiving as a rookie in 2012.
The talent has always been there.
Sadly, so has the trouble.
But Gordon believes he’s changed personally, and he’s now prepared to help the Browns bounce back from a 0-16 season and perhaps shock the league in 2018.
Gordon feels strongly about his team, which acquired three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Jarvis Landry and quarterback Tyrod Taylor in offseason trades.
”I think we’re the best receiving corps in the league, in my opinion, already just based off of talent alone,” Gordon said. ”So, you put in the playbook and some guys that are hungry enough to go do it, and hopefully Jake Matthews Jersey , we go out there and show and prove that. We’re not short on talent at the wide receiver position at all.”
Landry agrees.
”He ain’t lyin’,” said Landry, who caught 400 passes and 22 touchdowns during three seasons in Miami. ”I think the capability of what we all can do is endless.”
Gordon also feels Taylor, who led Buffalo to the playoffs last season, and No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield are the best quarterbacks he’s had in Cleveland.
”By far,” Gordon said. ”It’s going to be an interesting thing to watch the quarterback battle go on, but you’ve got a proven guy in Tyrod. We’ve got a young talented guy in Baker. I don’t see how it can go wrong, really. … I don’t know a quarterback that works harder than Tyrod. He’s definitely set the bar. And then Baker, he’s right behind the guy and looking up to a guy that can show him the exact things you need to do to be a professional quarterback in this league. So from a quarterback standpoint, we’re really set. We’re really good.”
Cleveland’s success will also hinge on Gordon staying available.
He said this is the first time he’s participated in the team’s complete offseason program, and as he nears the start of another new season and another shot at redemption, his goals have shifted.
”More than anything, I really just want to win,” he said. ”Whatever it takes for me to get some wins and do my part where I leave no doubt Andrew Adams Jersey , no question in anybody’s mind that Josh did everything he could do to try and get us a win, then I can walk away with whatever the stat line is. More than anything, I’d rather be a winner.”
To this point, Gordon has harnessed his demons.
He’s learned not to run tomorrow’s race.
”To me it’s just one day at a time,” Gordon said. ”You know, you got today and that’s all we’re really given. The next day, if I’m blessed with the opportunity to wake up, I’ll try to attack it with the same mentality and mindset. And have the same perseverance, same set of goals and try to stick to that day by day.”
—
Richard Sherman walked into what used to be enemy territory at the home of the San Francisco 49ers decked out in a red suit to match his new team after switching sides from Seattle in this fierce NFC West rivalry.
Sherman still must wait a bit to put on a red 49ers jersey, but he vows it will be sooner than some people expected considering he is coming off surgery on his right Achilles tendon that ended his final season with the Seahawks and led to his release earlier this month.
Sherman said he is already back on the treadmill following that surgery and another operation to repair bone spurs in his left heel and hopes to be back on the field by May or June and at full speed by the starting of training camp this summer.
”There are some people that are cut from a different cloth and built from different things and I think I’m one of those people,” Sherman said Tuesday. ”I look forward to showing people that you can come back better from things. … I look forward to coming back better than ever. I’ve got a lot of things to show a few people.”
Sherman showed plenty on the field during his seven years in Seattle, where he developed from an overlooked fifth-round pick out of Stanford into the prototypical lockdown cornerback who shut down opposing receivers and let them know about it with his colorful trash talk.
Sherman showed similar skills defending the three-year contract he negotiated himself with the 49ers. The deal is worth up to $39 million but much of it is tied to incentives for playing time and awards and little is guaranteed, according to Pro Football Talk. That led to criticism from players like Joe Thomas, former executives like Joe Banner and some in the media.
Sherman got a $3 million signing bonus Russell Bodine Jersey , a $2 million salary for 2018 and a $2 million bonus if he passes a physical before Nov. 11. The rest of his salary is tied to per-game active roster bonuses and rewards for being named to the Pro Bowl or All-Pro teams.
If he gets those honors and plays at least 90 percent of the defensive snaps and all 16 games this season, Sherman could make $13 million this year, more than he was due to make with no guaranteed money in the final year of his deal with the Seahawks.
”The biggest misconception is that it’s a bad deal,” he said. ”If you’re comparing it to my last deal in Seattle, I had no money guaranteed. … I’m coming off a ruptured Achilles, what do I have? What security do I have there? With this deal, I get $5 million guaranteed, which is half of my other contract. I get the ability to make more than I could have done whether I played at an All-Pro level or not in Seattle. And that’s really all that I wanted. I play at the level that I’m capable of. I feel security in the upcoming years and I felt comfortable with that. I’m great with that.”
Sherman said it was important to him to negotiate his own deal and he studied other cornerback contracts before the 5 hours of negotiations with 49ers cap specialist Paraag Marathe and general manager John Lynch.
Sherman pointed out that many of the contracts negotiated each offseason by certified agents come with lofty sticker prices that players never get to see because of few guarantees.
He said he has already heard from other players interested in doing their own deals in the future and expects more to come.
”I think these agents sometimes benefit from relationships. `Oh, I know this GM. We’ve had dealings with for years.’ They really don’t have to do a ton of work. `Hey, I called this guy. How much are you willing to give him? Oh, $5 million? OK. I’ll convince him that that’s good enough,”’ Sherman said. ”Instead of guys being able to control their own destiny, being in control of their own finances and I think it goes back to just educating our players in general on their own finances and being in control of your own life. I think more of our players are.”
—
Authentic Womens Harold Landry Jersey
