Norman, the star cornerback who became an unrestricted free agent when the Panthers removed the franchise tag from him this week, has signed with Washington according to multiple reports. Both NFC East teams will play twice in 2016.
Advertisement
Washington flew Norman in for a visit Friday, and he agreed to a deal that will make him the highest paid cornerback in the NFL.
In four season with the Panthers, Norman amassed 181 tackles with 37 passes defensed, seven interceptions, four fumbles forced and two touchdowns. The Panthers elected to place the franchise tag on Norman, but the 28-year-old cornerback did not sign the tender and was expected to hold out from offseason workouts.
“Hell of a job by @Redskins front office”, defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois tweeted.
I would be shocked if they pull this move off. However, with the Saints you just never know!
During his career with the Panthers, Norman showed the rest of the NFL why he deserved to be in the conversation of being one of the league’s top cornerbacks.
“I just feel so great about being here and the craziest part about it is you guys have been so nice to me since Day One”.
However, before the 49ers and Dolphins will get the chance to talk to Norman, the Washington Redskins will get the first opportunity to make a possible offer.
But I’ll leave for another day the issue of whether Snyder already has neutered general manager Scot McCloughan, a football grinder who is more at home in the draft room than the free-agent market. Schefter’s network colleague Ed Werder reported (via sources) that $51.1 million of the deal was guaranteed. Panthers GM Dave Gettleman said the reasoning behind the decision was that it was becoming increasingly clear that a deal to retain Norman was not going to get done. Instead, the defending NFC champions rescinded the franchise tag last week, making him a free agent. The 2012 fifth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina intercepted four passes and shut down some of the game’s best receivers on a weekly basis in 2015.
Advertisement
“I got sideswiped – I didn’t see it coming”.
