Redskins Josh Norman responds to critics, ‘puts up his Dukes’
It had been a frustrating seven days for cornerback Josh Norman and the Washington Redskins. A win against the Carolina Panthers eased the tension yesterday.
Since Josh Norman arrived in Washington after Carolina rescinded the franchise tag in April of 2016, he hasn’t been the player the Washington Redskins had hoped he’d be.
Washington lured in Norman with the richest deal for a defensive back in NFL history: a five-year deal worth $75 million with $50 million guaranteed and a $15 million dollar signing bonus. Reports surfaced last week that Norman was benched because he was wearing headphones during halftime of the Saints game while Jay Gruden was speaking (per Joseph Zucker of Bleacher Report).
Before yesterday’s game, you could have made the case that Norman is another failed experiment in the long list of Redskins free agents. The last time Norman had an interception was Week 16 of the 2016 season when he snagged two from Matt Barkley of the Chicago Bears. That changed yesterday as Norman intercepted former teammate Cam Newton. Norman also accounted for another turnover when he forced a fumble on defense.
A few weeks ago, former Redskins general manager Charley Casserly (now an analyst for NFL Network) stated that Norman is the ‘third-best’ corner on the roster. According to John Keim of ESPN, some within the Redskins organization agree with Casserly. Kevin Sheehan of ESPN 980 also had an interesting nugget this last week as well on Norman. The quote comes from Sporting News’ Arthur Weinstein.
"“There is not a lot of good vibes when it comes to Norman among several of the coaches right now. They’re hopeful he begins to play better.”"
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was 4-0 in his career against Washington before yesterday. Josh Norman’s performance is a major reason why the ‘Skins were able to beat Carolina for the first time since 2006.
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Former teammate DeAngelo Hall questioned Norman’s commitment to the game when he suggested that Norman was more interested in being in Hollywood instead of being a football player. After a bounce-back performance against his former team, it’s now hard to question Norman’s ability and value to the Redskins defense. It’s been a rough past few games for Norman, but this is the type of performance that reassures the coaching staff of Norman’s impact he can make on defense. The NFL is not only week-to-week, but it’s a fickle league. Cornerback is just another example of that fact.