National Football League roundup

[July 22, 2016]  July 21 (The Sports Xchange) - Suspended Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell met this week regarding Gordon's reinstatement from his indefinite drug ban.

The meeting was first reported by the NFL Network and confirmed by ESPN, which also said a decision is unlikely before the season starts. Gordon is eligible to apply again for reinstatement on Aug. 1.

He petitioned for reinstatement on April 12 but was denied for allegedly failing a league-administered drug test. Gordon tested positive for marijuana, and that both the A and B samples were also diluted, which means he may have tried to cover up using pot, according to multiple reports.

He was suspended for two games in 2013, 10 games in 2014 and the entire 2015 season. Gordon, 25, led the league with 1,646 receiving yards in 2013, when he played 14 games.

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Former NFL running back Ray Rice is ready to play for free. Rice, out of football since his well-publicized domestic abuse incident at the end of the 2013 season, said in USA Today that he plans to donate his entire salary should a team sign him.

The likelihood of Rice returning to the NFL is not great, especially at a position at which timing and training are generally honed on the field. The minimum salary for a seven-year veteran is $890,000.

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New York Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson vows to be ready for Week 1 of the 2016 season.

Wilkerson, who broke his right leg in Week 17 last season, is still rehabbing and the team wants to be cautious in the early stages of camp.

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Eugene Monroe retired from the NFL, but the outspoken advocate for player health and other issues doesn't plan to go quietly.

Monroe, 29, played seven seasons in the league, first with the Jacksonville Jaguars and since October 2013 with the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens re-signed Monroe to a deal worth $37.5 million before the 2014 season, but he was dogged by injuries in 2015 when Monroe suited up for just six games.

Released by the Ravens in June, Monroe was an outspoken advocate for medical marijuana, which some outside the game believe could be a viable treatment for injuries caused by regular violent collisions in football.

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The Detroit Lions signed free-agent offensive tackle Luke Marquardt to a contract.

Terms were not disclosed by the team on Marquardt, who has yet to play an NFL game despite joining two teams after being an undrafted rookie out of Azusa Pacific. (Editing by Frank Pingue)

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