While you are likely correct on that, his issues reportedly started back in middle school and followed to HS and college. Long before the bright lights and pressure of the NFL. So I suspect those things (pressure, spotlight, etc) don't help, but I am not sure removing NFL football from the equation does him a lot of good. I think he would/will struggle each day whether there is football on his schedule or not. Any relief he may experience with the pressure of pro ball lifted is likely offset by the added anxiety of not knowing what he's going to do from here.
Would be curious to know if he really got into substance abuse so young to cope with legit mental issues (self medicating, if you will) or if that is just what him and his crew did because it was easier doing gang stuff while goofed-up on something. After years of abusing chemicals, he probably doesn't feel "right" unless he's stoned. I can buy that. But did the mental health issues help lead him down that road or are they kind of a symptom now that he's got several years of substance abuse under his belt? Maybe its moot at this point. But if we could go back in time and meet the middle school Josh Gordon, what would we find? A young person with legit mental health issues that turned to drugs/alcohol to cope or someone from a broken environment who lacked structure/direction, ran with a bad crowd, and got into substance abuse because that's what they did? Either way, what a waste.