Josh Gordon

Josh Gordon has been getting help and is motivated to get back, Jim Brown said.

(Joshua Gunter/cleveland.com)

ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- Browns Hall of Famer Jim Brown, who's playing a larger role in the organization under Hue Jackson, has talked to suspended Browns receiver Josh Gordon in the past month and was encouraged by what he heard.

"I've talked with Josh twice on the phone, and the last time I talked with him he sounded very motivated and I think he was in rehab and feeling good about it and discovering some things about himself,'' Brown told cleveland.com at the Browns Foundation golf outing at Westwood Country Club. "He really seemed ready to take responsibility for himself.''

Brown said he wasn't sure if Gordon has been in inpatient rehab or outpatient for his substance use. The Pro Bowl receiver's petition for reinstatement from his indefinite suspension under the substance abuse policy was denied by the NFL April 12, but he can apply again on Aug. 1.

Brown said he believed Gordon was at home when he spoke with him, and sounded good. He hasn't surfaced on social media much since attending the Coachella music and arts festival with Johnny Manziel on April 18.

"His way of expressing himself, the responsibility he was taking made me feel really very motivated about his chance of getting back,'' said Brown.

Brown, who's an advisor to Haslam and Jackson, believes the pair would welcome Gordon back if he's reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. So far, Jackson has been non-committal, saying there's nothing yet to discuss.

"If he adheres to the demands that the league put on him, and he carries that out, I'm sure they'll be very happy to have him back,'' Brown said.

Brown said he talked to Haslam about Gordon and "about the way that the league handles these guys that smoke pot.''

He said the NFL ban on marijuana is antiquated and must be amended.

"Yes it is, because it makes hypocrites out of people,'' said Brown. "It's legal in some places and illegal in others, so you can't have a situation where it's legal in one state and not in another. They have to come to some understanding of it and punishment is not always a way to help somebody."

Brown said players often need help and not sanctions.

"Sometimes you have to recognize that they have a psychological problem based on their upbringing, lack of father's love, trying to be with the boys on the corner," he said. "All of those things come into play, and when someone steps in, like in my life, someone stepped in and guided me, and I am beholden to them forever. I am a believer in trying to help people help themselves."

Gordon spent part of his off-season hanging out with Manziel, but it was a slippery slope. He picked up Manziel after a one-car crash involving Manziel and a friend on the Sunset Strip in April. A man identifying himself as Gordon was seen with Manziel at a rental home that Manziel supposedly trashed, the agency owner told cleveland.com.

Two days later, the two showed up at Coachella, and a post on social media showed them ordering something from a bar.

A day after that, agent Drew Rosenhaus -- who represented both players at the time -- made good on his threat to dump Manziel unless he got help for his substance abuse. Rosenhaus kept Gordon, and the receiver apparently started treatment soon thereafter, or perhaps made more of a commitment to it.

"He would really be a great addition,'' said Brown. "He's a great receiver and I think he's a pretty nice young man, but in today's society, substance plays a big part.''

Brown, for one, is pulling for him to come back.

"He's trying,'' said Brown. "It's up to him.''