Browns 'fairly certain' Josh Gordon will be suspended at least part of year

The Cleveland Browns think wide receiver Josh Gordon will miss at least part of the year for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine said he is “fairly certain” All-Pro wide receiver Josh Gordon will miss a portion of the season as a repeat violator of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

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No decision has come down from the NFL on Gordon, and Gordon could face up to a year-long ban from the league.

"I wasn't sending a message," Pettine said, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. "Knowing that the decision is looming, that we're fairly certain that we're not going to have him for at minimum some part of the year, we wanted to make sure that we were getting repetitions with the guys that were going to be out there early." 

Gordon did not play in the Browns' preseason loss to St. Louis Rams on Saturday. Pettine said that earlier that Gordon was dealing with an abdominal injury, but acknowledged that Gordon’s probable suspension was also reason Gordon was kept on the bench. 

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