Panthers name right decision with Norman

With the league making it so easy to pass the ball, it’s very hard to sustain being the best cornerback in the league.
You never see a team rescind a franchise tag they places on a player to allow them to become a free agent. Only elite players get tags put on them so if a team has the ability and cap space to keep them for at least one more year, there is no reason not to keep them. But the Panthers let Josh Norman go. They called it a business move to let the best cornerback in the league last season just walk away.
The move to let Norman go came after the Panthers saw no path to getting a long term deal done. Norman wants somewhere between $15 million to $17 million per year. The Panthers were willing to give him around $12 million. They felt that extra $5 million would be more beneficial going toward improving their team in other areas, so they just moved on.
With the rule changes in the NFL making it so hard to defend the pass, it seems counter-intuitive to let an elite shutdown cornerback walk. And make no bones about it; Norman was the best shutdown cornerback in the league last year. But he is no worth as much money as he wants.
Norman has to do what is best for him and his family. In a violent sport where retired players can rack up massive medical bills and a sport with a short shelf-life on top of it, if Norman knows a team is willing to shell out those big bucks to get him, he should go for it. But the Panthers are making the right decision but letting him go. With the money they would be paying Norman the Panthers can make sure they have the money to lock up both Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei on long term deals. They can also improve their receiving core and offensive lines.
While Norman was the best cornerback in the league last year, the rule changes also make it very difficult for a cornerback to have long term success. Richard Sherman fell back to reality after playing at an elite level for a few years. Joe Haden, Chris Harris, Vontae Davis, Aqib Talib and Stephon Gilmore were all looked at as elite or rising cornerbacks but all have shown their faults the past year or two. It’s the nature of the game. No cornerback is worth that much money.
Corey Johns
Latest posts by Corey Johns (see all)
- My Ultimate Historic March Madness Bracket - March 17, 2020
- Baseball analytics have gone too far - April 4, 2019
- AAF’s failure doesn’t mean alt football won’t work - April 3, 2019