Report: 49ers, Steelers and others have contacted Josh Norman
According to a report, the 49ers, Steelers and many others have contacted the representatives of cornerback Josh Norman.
One of the rarest occurrences in the NFL is when a team rescinds the franchise tag from a player. On Wednesday, the Carolina Panthers did just than and rescinded the franchise tag that they had placed on superstar cornerback Josh Norman.
It was a shock to everyone that they would let him become an unrestricted free agent. With the Panthers and Norman far apart on money, the organization decided that it was no longer worth it and they decided to move on.
With a player like Norman hitting the market, teams were scrambling to figure out ways to find cap space to add him to their roster. As soon as he officially became available, teams wasted no time in getting in touch with his representatives.
According to Panthers beat writer for The Charlotte Observer, Joseph Person, as many as 8-9 times have already checked in on Norman, including the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins.
8-9 teams have contacted Josh Norman's representatives since Panthers rescinded the tag, per league source.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) April 21, 2016
Niners, with a ton of cap space, among teams that called about Josh Norman, per source. Others incl. Bucs, Steelers, Dolphins.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) April 21, 2016
While he didn’t get the money that he wanted from the Panthers, there’s a good chance that he’s going to get paid what he wants from someone else because of the demand in him. What happened between the Panthers and Norman has been seen before, but it almost never happens and both sides usually works out a deal.
Both sides agreed to move on and now he will have his pick. Norman will obviously be looking to cash in where he goes as at 28 years old, this is likely his last chance at a major payday. He’s coming off the best season of his year and while many might want to see if he can follow it up and do it again, there’s just too many teams that are willing to take that risk and give him the money he wants.
The 49ers have a ton of cap space and they want to start winning as quickly as possible under new head coach Chip Kelly. The Pittsburgh Steelers are an interesting option and they’ve been purging their secondary lately. Adding Norman would give them a shutdown corner that they desire in a Super Bowl run. As for the Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he would be yet another high-profile player they could bring in fans with.
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