Recently reinstated Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon is still in the early stages of returning to NFL action for the first time since December 2014.
It's likely his last chance to resurrect a football career that's been derailed by addiction issues, and for things to work out, he'll have to stay away from his former game-day routine.
"I used to make a ritual of it before every game. ... We would stay at the team hotel and then players are allowed to go back home, get what they need, and then go to the game," Gordon explained to Clay Skipper of GQ in a tell-all interview. "So I'd leave the hotel early morning, go home, eat breakfast, do my little ritual, whatever it may be, some weed, some alcohol, and then go to the game. And then, I'd definitely be partying after every game, win or lose. Every game."
Asked to estimate how many games he played with drugs or alcohol in his system, Gordon answered, "Probably every game of my career" and "definitely" in college.
Under these circumstances, Gordon still managed to turn in back-to-back performances of 200 yards in 2013.
"I would have these little premade shots. I used to love Grand Marnier. ... But if it wasn't that, it might be a whiskey or something. And I would drink probably like half a glass, or a couple shots, to try and warm my system up, basically. To get the motor running. That's what I would do for games," Gordon said.
Gordon is scheduled to report to the team's facility Tuesday, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
His first chance to return to the active roster will be Week 13, under the terms of his conditional reinstatement.
