Aug. 7 (UPI) — New England Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon is filing for reinstatement after his suspension last season.
League sources told ESPN and Pro Football Talk on Wednesday that Gordon is seeking a return to the NFL. League commissioner Roger Goodell has sole discretion on whether to lift the wideout’s ban, along with the timing of a decision, according to ESPN.
The NFL suspended Gordon on Dec. 20 for violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement under the league’s substance abuse policy. He missed the Patriots’ last two regular-season games and all three postseason contests.
“The first thing is to focus on Josh himself as a young man, and what he needs to do to get his life on the right track,” Goodell said in March. “That’s what our focus is. We have resources supporting that, and that’s our hope.”
According to ESPN, any decision made by Goodell would be based on whether the receiver has complied to his current treatment plan.
“Once he gets on the right track, we’ll get to that place,” Goodell previously said. “But I think right now, he has had a complete focus on, ‘I have to get myself all cleared in the right place before I can get back on the field.’”
Gordon signed his restricted free-agent tender in April. If he is reinstated, the pass-catcher would remain under contract with New England in 2019 and earn a base salary of about $2.03 million.