As part of his return to the NFL, wide receiver Josh Gordon was very open about his past and admitted that he played football under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Gordon has always come across as a relaxed, well spoken player and his attitude may have fooled some people along the way, including former Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer. Hoyer was starting to add some things up in his head when he learned that the Pro Bowl wide receiver had been playing under the influence.

"Looking back on it, it makes sense,'' Hoyer told cleveland.com back in February.

"I can specifically remember in the Colts game (in 2014) where he was supposed to run an in-route and he broke out and I remember getting ready to throw it and I was like 'oh my gosh, he went the wrong way' and it just little things like that where you were like 'c'mon Josh.'''

A similar play occurred later in the season. It was frustrating for Hoyer, who was attempting to hold off first round selection Johnny Manziel at the time. He ultimately lost that battle.

"(Gordon) had a seam route in that game and when you have a seam route, you always go in front of the safety. Well, he went behind him and it hit the safety right in the chest. But now knowing what he admitted to, I really can't blame that on him. He probably wasn't in the right frame of mind to be playing football.''

The two players played three games together in 2013. In 2014, Gordon returned from his NFL suspension to play in the final five games similar to this past season. Four of those were with Hoyer under center. The team had already played the majority of the season without the troubled talent and integrating him back into the offense was slow going.

"At the time I thought he had been out for 10 weeks, he just wasn't caught up and it was hard for him to learn. But not only was he out for those 10 weeks, he was dealing with some real issues. It's hard enough to play in this league when you're completely sober, so to do this stuff when you're having issues like that, it makes sense to me a little bit," Hoyer finished.

Hoyer called Gordon's admission 'astonishing' and claimed that his lack of sobriety was not even a rumor within Cleveland's locker room.

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During the four games that the two played together in 2014, Gordon recorded 21 receptions for 255 yards.

Hoyer has since played with the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers and now the New England Patriots. Gordon, who was suspended again by the NFL and only made his NFL return for the final five games of the 2017 regular season, is still with the Browns. He is set to become a restricted free agent after the conclusion of the 2018 regular season. During the five games he played in 2017, he recorded 18 receptions for 335 yards and a touchdown.

Cleveland is excited to have him in the fold for an entire off-season. He maintains that he is sober and committed to becoming the player that he was always expected to be as well as a better father for his toddler daughter.