BEREA, Ohio -- An optimistic and upbeat Josh Gordon said Tuesday he's focused on small daily victories in his full-time return to the Cleveland Browns and the NFL.
"I feel pretty good right now," Gordon said Tuesday in his first interview since the 2017 season ended. "Life is great right now. And that's kind of all I know. Life is good now, so ..."
Gordon said he also feels really good about his team. He called the Browns' receivers the best in the NFL and the team's quarterbacks the best he has seen in Cleveland.
"I think we're the best receiving corps in the league, in my opinion, already," he said. "Just based off of talent alone. You put in the playbook and some guys that are hungry enough to go do it, hopefully we go show and prove that."
"He ain't lyin'," fellow wideout Jarvis Landry said, adding: "I think the capability of what we all can do is endless."
"To me it's just one day at a time. You know, you got today and that's all we're really given. The next day [if] I'm blessed with the opportunity to wake up I'll try to attack it with the same mentality and mindset. And have the same perseverance, same set of goals and try to stick to that day by day."Josh Gordon
Gordon also said he could not recall the last time he participated in a full session of OTAs and minicamp (it was 2014).
"To me it's just one day at a time," Gordon said. "You know, you got today and that's all we're really given. The next day [if] I'm blessed with the opportunity to wake up I'll try to attack it with the same mentality and mindset. And have the same perseverance, same set of goals and try to stick to that day by day."
Gordon has not played a full season for the Browns since his rookie season in 2012. In 2013, he was suspended for two games but still led the league in receiving yards with 1,646. The next four seasons a series of suspensions limited him to five games in 2014, none in 2015 and 2016, and five last season.
When he returned last season, Gordon admitted in a series of interviews that he had a substance-abuse problem and he had hit rock bottom in the summer of 2017, when he found himself wandering the streets of Gainesville, Florida, looking for a drug dealer. That led him to go to rehab and take his problem more seriously. Gordon said he is adapting to a new lifestyle, not all on his terms.
"It's a culmination of, like, life," he said. "Life on life's terms ... everything. Having to come to terms with what's going on in my life and trying to adjust and being able to cope with everything all at once in a healthy way."
What do his small victories entail?
"To me it's just, like, getting up and not having to worry about whether or not you have some type of security or you have someplace to stay," he said. "Spending time with my daughter. I didn't have much time, didn't get to spend any time with my family in the past.
"Being there with friends. Working toward a future. To me that might seem like little things -- anybody else can look forward to the future, plan ahead -- but to me those are things I look forward to doing and I take pride in doing.
"Just coming to work. Being able to talk to guys, see guys' expressions, interact with them ... a lot of little things. I take a lot of joy in that."
Gordon called new teammates Tyrod Taylor and Baker Mayfield "the most talented quarterbacks I've seen come through here, by far."
"I don't know a quarterback that works harder than Tyrod," Gordon said. "He's definitely set the bar. And Baker, he's right behind a guy and looking up to a guy that can show him the exact things you need to do to be a great professional quarterback in this league. From a quarterback standpoint I think we're really set, we're really good."
Gordon said he will stay in Cleveland during the break after minicamp and before training camp with the intention of returning in the best shape he's been in, which would be something given Mayfield said a week ago that he's never seen anyone like Gordon in terms of physical talent. Gordon said his plan is exceeding "everything I've done in the past."