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Josh Gordon to exit rehab soon, hopes for reinstatement

Geoff Burke / USA TODAY Sports

Suspended Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon will end his latest rehabilitation treatment on Sept. 21 and hopes to get another shot at restarting his NFL career, former Olympian Tim Montgomery, who trains the Gordon, told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.

"He's coming," Montgomery said. "I think he's going to be there this season."

Gordon was denied reinstatement in May, prompting him to enter a 90-day program on June 21 - believed to be his fourth known trip to rehab - to help convince the NFL to lift his indefinite ban for multiple violations of the league's substance-abuse policy.

"He's been clean, so we're hoping after 90 days he's reinstated and they put him back in the league, which it looks like they're going to do that,'' said Montgomery.

The 26-year-old was told he could reapply for reinstatement again in the fall, though any such reinstatement would likely be on a conditional basis, in a similar way to how the NFL handled Martavis Bryant's return from suspension, first clearing him to return to the team and then granting full reinstatement several months later.

With Gordon facing what could be his last shot at returning to the NFL, Montgomery believes he has made significant strides since earlier in the year.

"From what I've seen, he's in a different place than what he was six, seven months ago,'' said Montgomery. "He's come a long, long way from when we first started working together.''

Gordon - who led the league in receiving yards in 2013 - hasn't played since Dec. 2014.

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