Sure, but he’s not going to like that.
He’s a RFA after next season.
My thought is that you put a high round tender on him (1st or maybe a 2nd), and then you have so many options.
He, having paid for peanuts for years, may want and NEED to extend with Cleveland just to make sure he’s not playing for that tender. He likely, under no circumstance, wants to play for that one year tender.
Some guaranteed money is probably what he greatly desires if he stays clean another year. Thus, you may get him on a decent deal. He will be 28 years old with a history of very hard drug use.
Or, the other option is you let him go out and find a deal. My guess is that the tender price would scare teams away given his history. However, if a team signs him and you don’t want to match, getting a first off of them for Josh Gordon is another huge win.
Either way, I think he does not play for the tender after next season. I think he either extends after the year with us, or we tender him and get a high pick for him.