Former Redskins corner Josh Norman set to join Bills on one-year deal

Josh Norman was let go by the Washington Redskins ahead of the final year of his five-year contract. He is now reportedly set to sign a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills.

It was always assumed that the Washington Redskins were going to move on from Josh Norman this offseason. Norman was entering the final year of a five-year, $75 million deal that he had signed with the team in April of 2016 but his play had regressed since that point.

Over the course of the past two seasons, Norman increasingly became a liability for the Redskins. He simply didn’t have the ability to serve as a top corner anymore and toward the end of the 2019 season, he was benched as the ‘Skins tested out their younger alternatives on the roster. Given the big-time cap hit he was set to have in 2020, he simply had to be released as he was no longer a starter in Washington.

That said, it was always expected that another team would take a chance on the 32-year-old free agent. After all, he was once one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL and it’s possible that in a system more tailored to his strengths, he could bounce back and be a solid starter.

It looks like Norman found the right situation for himself with the Buffalo Bills. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Norman is signing with the Bills on a one-year deal worth $6 million in base value and up to $8 million in incentives.

As Garafolo mentions, the big win for Norman here is that he’s reuniting with Sean McDermott. McDermott is an up-and-coming head coach at the NFL level and just had got the Bills to the playoffs. When McDermott was with the Panthers, Norman enjoyed his best years as he fit McDermott’s scheme very well.

In Buffalo, Norman will have a chance to slot into that same scheme and execute well from the get-go. Sure, he’ll need to prove that he still has enough speed and coverage instincts needed to hold up on defense, but if he’s asked to play more zone concepts with safety help over the top, he may be in better shape. And given that the Bills have a terrific safety duo of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, that seems like a strong possibility.

Norman will battle for the No. 2 corner spot with the Bills across from one of the best young corners in the NFL, Tre’Davious White. Levi Wallace occupied that spot last year and while he was solid in that role, adding some competition certainly won’t hurt. And at the very least, Norman will upgrade the team’s shaky depth as their primary backup from last year, Kevin Johnson, hits the free-agent market.

This seems like an ideal fit for Norman. He’s going somewhere that has scheme familiarity, so he should be able to integrate himself into the defense right away. And there is a starting spot available that he could win, but he will be a top backup if he can’t do that.

For the Bills, this is a low-risk signing considering that they only have Norman on a one-year deal. The $6 million base salary is a bit pricier than I expected Norman would get, but perhaps there were multiple suitors for his services that drove his price up about $2 million. On a one-year deal, that $6 million won’t kill any NFL team.

Meanwhile, this has minimal impact on the Redskins as they were set to move on from Norman no matter what this offseason. His time in Washington had simply run its course and it was time for a changing of the guard at the cornerback position.

It will be interesting to see if Norman can bounce back in 2020. But even if he does, he wouldn’t have had a place on the ‘Skins because of his price tag. A change of scenery was best for all involved.