Redskins: 3 moves that would be better off as April Fools Day jokes
3. Cutting Josh Norman
There has been a bit of buzz at times this year about cutting Josh Norman. In some ways, that move could make sense. Norman does have a bloated contract at this point in his career, but cutting him would do little to help the team.
The big thing that gets discussed when looking at Norman is how much money could be saved by cutting him. And the team would certainly have more room if that happened. Norman has a $14.5 million cap hit and cutting him would save the team about $8.5 million against the cap. Meanwhile, they would have $6 million in dead cap space this year.
That $8.5 million would once have been an intriguing number. However, at this point with the free agent market mostly dried up, there’s not really anything that $8.5 million figure can become. Norman would likely be better than any other player available at that price tag. And, the team can still afford to add free agents with their available cap space.
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Moreover, next offseason, cutting Norman would save the team about $12 million in cap room with a dead cap hit of just $3 million. So, hanging onto him would be sensible as they could get one more year of service on him before moving on to another option next offseason.
Also, it’s worth noting that while the Redskins have some intriguing young talent at corner, they are unproven. Quinton Dunbar and Fabian Moreau could end up being long-term starters while Greg Stroman looks to become a slot-man or starter too, but for the time being, having a veteran to pair with those younger players makes sense. Norman can at least be solid on one side of the field and even on a more expensive contract, that would be worth it.
In short, there’s no real merit to cutting Norman without a good enough replacement in tow. At this point, it makes sense to keep him for one more year as a veteran before reassessing their options next offseason.