The Carolina Panthers made a surprising move when they withdrew their franchise tag offer to Josh Norman on Wednesday (April 20), making the Pro Bowl cornerback an unrestricted free agent.
While Norman was arguably one of the most valuable defensive players last season, the Panthers saw no path to a long-term deal, according to ESPN. The team placed the tag on Norman last month, guaranteeing the cornerback $13,952 million in 2016. However, Norman never signed the tag with the intention to skip at least the first part of offseason workouts.
Although, Norman would be an asset to several NFL teams, executives were wondering if there was more to this separation story.
Sources say Norman wanted a long-term deal worth between $15 million and $16 million a year, however, the Panthers made one offer for almost $11 million and didn’t budge.
It’s quite possible that Norman could re-sign with the Panthers at a lower number. But, that seems unlikely, since Norman is anticipated to be in high demand. According to a written statement by Panthers general manager, Dave Gettleman seems like the split is final.
“After a number of conversations with Josh’s agent we realized that a long-term deal was not attainable,” Gettleman wrote in a statement. “We have decided to rescind the franchise tag freeing Josh to immediately become a UFA. We thank Josh for all his contributions and truly wish him well.”
Gettleman had every intention to secure a long-term deal with Norman before the July 15 deadline and felt comfortable with the shutdown CB playing under the tag. However, the two parties were never close in negotiations, so the Panthers opted to move on to eliminate the risk of distraction, reports ESPN.
Several teams have made inquires and there are several possible landing spots for the fifth year cornerback. It will be interesting to see how this move affects (if at all) the Panthers in the upcoming season.
