Some might say that the Panthers put Josh Norman in a bad spot by not rescinding his franchise tender earlier in the offseason. However, as Mike Florio of PFT notes, the Panthers could have put the cornerback in a much worse spot by pulling the tag after the draft. As of today, there are still several teams with the cap room necessary to sign Norman and a clear need for a game-changing cornerback like him. If the Panthers waited a couple of weeks to pull the tender, Norman probably would have been left in limbo without any strong fits.
Here’s more on Norman and the Panthers:
- Eight or nine teams have contacted Norman’s representatives since the Panthers rescinded the franchise tag, a league source tells Joe Person of The Charlotte Observer (on Twitter).
- Norman wanted Patrick Peterson/Darrelle Revis money while the Panthers were only willing to sign him to Byron Maxwell money, which would put him at about $11MM per year, Person tweets.
- Of course, it’s not often that franchise tags are rescinded. The most “recent” cases of the franchise tag being pulled were Leroy Hill in 2009 (Seahawks) and Corey Simon (Eagles) in 2005, as Joel Corry of CBSSports.com tweets.
- The Jaguars are a natural fit for Norman because they need a strong No. 1 cover corner and have the resources to pay him, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union writes. The Jaguars are $52.5MM under the cap, more than every team except San Francisco.
- In addition to the Jaguars, the Titans, Bears, Giants….and Panthers are among the teams that make the most sense for Norman, Nate Davis of USA Today opines. The Panthers, Davis writes, probably give Norman his best shot at both winning and cashing in since the team has ~$30MM in cap room.
- During Super Bowl week in February, Norman made no secret of his affinity for the 49ers, as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes. “They’re tremendous, and one of the greatest teams we have among the 32,” Norman said. “Their championships in the Super Bowls are epic. They’ve had all-time greats. They’re right up there with the Packers and Dallas Cowboys in how they do things.”
Who in there right mind is going to pay this one year wonder that kind of money…. He is truly on a moron….. Sit out the year Normen…..
If you are going to insult a guy at least spell his name correctly.
That is hilarious. And not exactly like he is the first at any position to have a great year and expect more. They call it a “contract year” for a reason.
What do you expect from Giant fans? They’re still bitter about the OBJ/Norman situation
Hey let’s be nice to Giants fans. We’re not all as dumb as the guy above. Norman is a great player and I’d pay to have him on my team
Someone’s probably still mad about that Panthers-Giants game.
49ers could use a strong number one CB. Then move Brock to guard the slot were he better at
Here’s the deal….Norman is not going to get Revis/Petersen/Sherman money. However, the 49ers seem to be the most logical destination for Norman because they have ridiculous cap space and can make him a deal like 5 years/$65 million with $30 million guaranteed. That deal will put him in the top 5 highest paid CB in the league. No one else is going to give him that money.
The Jags could…they have a few million less than the Niners and have just as big of a need.
There’s 6 teams I could see him go to from most likely to least
1. Jags
2. Raiders
3. 49ers
4. Rams
5. Panthers
6. Patriots
Patriots really? Nice way to throw some bandwagon in there
The patriots have Chung and Butler, they dont need another CB at the moment
Chung is a safety
Signing free agents isn’t really the 49ers thing anymore
Either is winning. They were set back a couple years by injuries and unexpected retirements the last couple years. Free agency isn’t the best value, but can help rebuild quicker.
I’ll be watching closely to see what he gets paid. Lions will have a similar issue next year with Slay. I get the appeal for the 49ers, but the Jags and Raiders are both closer to being contenders in my opinion.
The only reason he doesn’t sign with the 49ers is because the team is now the York families only source of income. Doesn’t make sense for them to get locked up to a contract to like this.
Norman will go to the team that not only wants and needs him, but also has the most to offer. That would be the 49ers….he has even made comments giving high praise to San Francisco, the 49ers, and the history of the franchise
His brother plays for the Jacksonville Giants basketball team…..FWIW