The Carolina Panthers make a disturbing move as they rescinded their franchise tag over cornerback Josh Norman minutes after they stated that he is an unrestricted free agent.
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Norman’s deal includes $50 million guaranteed, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the seventh-largest guaranteed figure ever for a defensive player, according to Spotrac.
Carolina general manager Dave Gettleman said Norman’s departure would not change his draft-day mantra of taking the best player available regardless of position. With the market for quality cornerbacks at a high, many teams were angling for the services of Norman as soon as the news hit the wire.
According to Yahoo Sports, the Redskins will have the first chance to try and acquire Norman as he meets with them today.
The 49ers, Dolphins and Jaguars were also mentioned as possible suitors for Norman, and the Saints reportedly made a huge push over the last day, but it appeared the Redskins weren’t going to let him leave on Friday without a deal.
Teams that looked for a big-time CB in free agency and didn’t come up with one: The #Rams, #Bears, #49ers, #Titans, etc. Just for logistics, Janoris Jenkins signed a $62.5 million contract over five years.
The Panthers decision to sideswipe Norman means that you should probably circle December 19 on your calendar, because that’s when the cornerback will be able to get revenge on his old team.
“With the realization a deal was not going to get done, our internal conversations kept leading us to the fact that the one-year deal was becoming less and less attractive”.
Norman stated emphatically that he wanted to win “the granddaddy of them all” with Washington – and he wasn’t referring to the Rose Bowl. In 16 games played and started in the previous campaign, the 28-year-old recorded 56 tackles, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, four interceptions, 18 pass deflections, and three stuffs.
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This comes just two days after the Panthers rescinded their non-exclusive franchise tag on Norman and cut him outright.
