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Josh Gordon Arrested for DWI

Concern heightens for future of the troubled Cleveland Browns receiver.

The concern over Josh Gordon has hit a fever pitch after the troubled Cleveland Browns wide receiver was arrested this past weekend for a suspected DWI.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Gordon was stopped in Raleigh, North Carolina, for doing 50 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone Saturday morning. Gordon’s blood-alcohol was .09, over North Carolina's .08 limit, and he admitted to having three drinks mixed with vodka before being arrested for drunk driving and cited for speeding. Gordon's $500 bond was dubiously posted by felon Patrick "Fats" Thomas, who was linked to two rental cars driven by former University of North Carolina basketball star P.J. Hairston when Hairston was stopped by authorities last year.

This latest incident comes after Gordon was already facing a minimum year-long ban from the NFL after failing at least his third drug test this past May. Upon hearing the news of Gordon's arrest Saturday, everyone from former teammates to former NFL coaches and players are encouraging the embattled star wide receiver to get help and urgently.

Indianapolis Colts linebacker and former Browns teammate of Gordon’s D’Qwell Jackson is begging for the wideout to get treatment.

"He needs help, he really does," Jackson told ESPN on Monday. "He needs people to extend themselves and probably have to do more than they wanted to do. But if [the Browns] care anything about the kid, they have to do it. At this point, calling the cellphone is not going to work. You have to fly out to him. You have to fly out to wherever he is, take him to dinner and pick his brain to see what's important to him.

"Josh Gordon was a big piece of the Browns' future; it's just unfortunate he didn't view it that way," Jackson added. "He is so valuable. He doesn't understand how valuable he is to an organization. He has no clue."

Added former Browns tight end Ben Watson via Twitter: “I understand the disappointment but publicly calling Josh Gordon, a waste of talent/potential etc serves no positive purpose at this point.”

Gordon was planning to appeal a possible yearlong suspension later this month for marijuana charges, but Saturday’s DWI incident will likely kill his chances of reducing an impending punishment.

Appearing on ESPN’s Mike & Mike show Monday morning, Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter related his own personal plight with substance abuse to Gordon’s current situation, before solemnly suggesting that Cleveland cuts him.

“My situation was very, very similar, but there were some differences,” Carter said. “And if I’m the Cleveland Browns — and it’s gut-wrenching for me to say this — I really believe the only thing that’s gonna help the kid is if they release him.”

Carter went on state that “street cocaine” and “alcohol” were his biggest vices and even though he was clean of the former for six months, Buddy Ryan, his then-coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, cut him in September 1990 because he said he couldn’t trust him. Carter added that being traded to the Minnesota Vikings and more importantly getting clean was the “best thing that could have ever happened to me.” Good for football too, as Carter produced a Hall of Fame career.

Also on Mike & Mike on Monday, former NFL coach Herm Edwards suggested that the Browns send Gordon to work with ex-NBA coach John Lucas, who has successfully helped rehab basketball players with their substance abuse problems, for one year without cutting him.

An impending decision about Gordon’s potential yearlong suspension is expected before the end of the month.

Gordon led the NFL with 1,646 receiving yards in 2013.

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 (Photo: AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

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