Josh Gordon: TD reminded me 'this is where I need to be'

BEREA, Ohio -- Josh Gordon's acrobatic touchdown catch in Friday night's preseason game in Tampa Bay rekindled memories of better days for the Cleveland Browns wide receiver.

His 43-yard reception in the second quarter looked like the Gordon from 2013, when he led the NFL in receiving yards after playing in just 14 games. He came back for the ball, and made a leaping, reaching catch as Brent Grimes flew by him.

"It definitely did send a spark to me," Gordon said Tuesday. "Helped me remember some things, have that sense of nostalgia.

"This is where I belong, this is where I need to be. This stage was meant for me to play on. That's what I'm meant to do."

His goal after missing 27 of the last 32 games to suspension, including all of the 2015 season: Do it consistently and "be here for the team," he said.

Gordon will play in the preseason finale Thursday night against Chicago, but will miss the first four games of the season because of an NFL suspension. Commissioner Roger Goodell took the unprecedented step of allowing Gordon to be with the team during his suspension, though he cannot practice.

"It's really a great opportunity," Gordon said. "Specifically just for having access to the facility. Being around the people, still being able to go to meetings, interact with your teammates, still pick up on knowledge and the installation for the game plan definitely helps.

"As opposed to being out. You're in the wind with it."

Gordon said all the time away from the team has helped him figure out how to learn without playing.

"I know how to adapt that way," he said. "I think it shouldn't hold me up too much."

The touchdown in Tampa Bay is further evidence the time away may not hold him up. That score was the first time Gordon was in an NFL end zone with the football since Dec. 15, 2013, when he scored in a 38-31 loss to the Bears.

His reaction to "shush" the crowd was "bigger than Tampa Bay," he said, adding the fans there were great to him.

"When you've gone through the certain amount of things that I've gone through and people have their opinions, that's just kind of what comes with it," Gordon said. "That play and plays to come will slowly reflect that. That I can hopefully project a different image of myself."