Whoa, The Browns Are Cutting Josh Gordon

The last update about Browns receiver Josh Gordon was that he’d be out for Sunday with a hamstring injury. He had just one catch, a 17-yard touchdown, in Cleveland’s Week 1 tie with the Steelers, but Browns head coach Hue Jackson sounded optimistic about Gordon’s future on the team as recently as Wednesday:

“Josh, when he is going like we know he can, he has an opportunity to make plays,” Jackson said Wednesday. “He has to continue to work to be in the right spot. We have to give him opportunities, and I think that we will do that.”

Something seems to have happened between then and Saturday evening, because the Browns have now announced the Gordon will be released by the team:

This is a genuine bummer of a development for an enormously talented player who has missed a ton of time since his breakout 2013 season. Gordon missed much of training camp as part of his part of his “ overall health and treatment plan.” He was added to the injury list for Sunday’s game against the Saints Saturday morning, and released by the team Saturday night. The Browns’ statement is vague, but Ian Rapoport says there were definite trust issues, there: