Josh Gordon

Josh Gordon remains on the reserve/suspended list until Roger Goodell says otherwise.

(John Kuntz / cleveland.com)

BEREA, Ohio -- Josh Gordon, who was due to come off his four-game suspension Monday, but is back to being suspended indefinitely instead.

He'll remain suspended until further notice, and it will be up to the discretion of Commissioner Roger Goodell if and when to let him back in the NFL, a league spokesman told cleveland.com.

In the meantime, he'll remain on the Browns' reserve/suspended list, where he doesn't count against the roster and the Browns don't have to pay him.

Gordon had been conditionally reinstated by Goodell on July 25, with a four-game suspension to start the season to give him a chance to prove he could stay clean and sober.

Instead, Gordon, 25, left the team on Thursday and checked himself into inpatient rehab, meaning he likely violated the the terms of his recovery program again. A league source told cleveland.com that he's seeking help primarily for an alcohol problem.

The Browns will cut ties with him at some point, but there's no immediate need to do so. Regardless, Hue Jackson made it clear Thursday the Browns are done with the oft-suspended receiver, who's been banned for 31 of his last 36 games.

"What's best for our football team is that we move forward and move on,'' Jackson said. "He's not going to be with us and we wish him well, but we're moving forward. We're going to move on.

"Obviously Josh is not here and doing what he thinks he needs to for his life which we support 100 percent and after today, today is really the last Josh Gordon comment I want to make about that.''

With Gordon suspended indefinitely, he's likely out for at least the rest of this season. He'll then have to go through the formal process of petitioning Goodell to reinstate him again.

Perhaps the formal step of inpatient rehab will get the 2013 All-Pro closer to his goal of resuming his NFL career someday.

But it will not be in a Browns uniform. The Browns gave Gordon one last chance this season to adhere to his program and return to active status. When he was unable to do it, the Browns decided enough was enough.

Gordon had trimmed down and was gearing up for his return to the field. He had been working out in the fieldhouse during his four-game suspension while the Browns were practicing outside, and was rounding into game shape.

The return to indefinite suspension status comes a little more than a week after Gordon had a warrant out for his arrest for failing to submit to a paternity test. He finally did so, and the test revealed last week that he's the father of a one-year-old Maple Heights girl.

Gordon tweeted that he was under a lot of pressure and stress and needed to take this time out in his life.

At the Super Bowl in February, Goodell said he would need to be convinced that Gordon wouldn't be suspended again if he let him back in the league. He only made it back in on a conditional basis.

In a letter when he conditionally reinstated Gordon, Goodell wrote: "As we discussed at our (July 19) meeting, as Commissioner, I want nothing more than to see you turn your circumstances around and succeed.

"Countless others including your agent, teammates and coaches, Mr. Haslam and the leadership of the organization, the Program professionals and Jim Brown also have pledged to provide you with every resource at their disposal. But as you acknowledged, ultimately, your future is your responsibility. I have every belief that you can make the right choices, but it will be up to you to do so."

Now, Gordon is back to square one in his bid to convince Goodell that he deserves yet another chance.