CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns receiver Josh Gordon will be reinstated once the NFL's new drug policy passes -- as early as Friday afternoon -- but likely only for eight games, and it will ruffle some feathers, multiple league sources tell cleveland.com.
One league source said Gordon will likely be reinstated for about half the season because his positive test occurred in 2013, as early as January, the source said.
But he'd be rolled into the new agreement because his suspension didn't start until after the new league year began March 11.
Because Gordon tested positive in the 2013 league year, the NFL and NFL Players Association have negotiated a settlement that would enable him to get back on the field at the end of October or early November.
If Gordon also has a DWI hearing in November, and if convicted, would be suspended for two games for that. But a source said that Gordon could try to resolve the DWI early and serve it concurrently.
Several league sources have told cleveland.com that if Gordon's suspension is revised, others who tested positive in 2013 will fight to have their suspensions revised.
One of those sources said agents will argue that players dating all the way back to the new CBA in 2011 will fight to have their sanctions changed.
"It will open a can of worms,'' said one.
Gordon's eight-game suspension would most likely be retroactive to last week's opener in Pittsburgh. Depending on whether the bye week is counted, Gordon could return as early as a home game against Tampa Bay on Nov. 2, or at Cincinnati for a Thursday night prime-time game Nov. 6. Those are the eighth and ninth games on the Browns' schedule.
Gordon has been 'very optimistic' about being reinstated, his new boss, Jeff Sarchione, of Sarchione Auto Group told cleveland.com.