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Source: Veteran WR Josh Gordon files for NFL reinstatement from indefinite suspension

NFL, Seattle Seahawks

Veteran wide receiver Josh Gordon has submitted his reinstatement letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and hopes to be with a team for training camp, a league source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The NFL has been randomly drug testing Gordon for the past three months, and he is said to have passed all tests, according to the source.

The NFL suspended Gordon indefinitely in December 2019 for violations of its policies on substance abuse and performance-enhancing substances. That was Gordon's sixth suspension since the 2013 season and his fifth for some form of substance abuse, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Gordon was conditionally reinstated by the NFL in December 2020 and was set to practice with the Seattle Seahawks in the final two weeks of the regular season before his reinstatement was rescinded in January. Sources confirmed to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler at the time that Gordon had experienced a setback in his recovery from substance abuse.

After his conditional reinstatement to the NFL was rescinded, Gordon joined the Zappers of the Fan Controlled Football league in February to play with former Cleveland Browns teammate Johnny Manziel. Gordon's return to football ended when the Zappers were eliminated in the playoffs.

Appearing on The Adam Schefter Podcast in March, Gordon said he was training and had a good support system with his family and good friends, including Manziel, who he said gave him "motivation" and showed him "how important these small details in life are."

Gordon, 30, signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks before last season. He would become a free agent if he is reinstated by the NFL.

Selected by Cleveland in the 2012 supplemental draft, Gordon has appeared in more than six games only once since the 2013 season.

Information from ESPN's Brady Henderson was used in this report.

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