All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman hoped to remain with the Carolina Panthers this offseason, so much so that he even made a last-ditch effort to either sign his franchise tag after the team rescinded it or come to an agreement on a one-year deal. However, Norman said that Panthers General Manager Dave Gettleman had already sent in the paperwork and that Norman's former agent, Michael George, was to blame for the divorce.
Norman has since signed a five-year deal worth $75 million with the Washington Redskins, but he wants Panthers fans to know that he tried to make it work.
"My agent called them up and said if they wanted to do something, like a one-year, market-value [deal]," Norman said. "We wanted to come back. They said they weren't willing to, so we had to do what we had to do."
He added: "My hands were tied in the whole thing."
Norman, once the franchise tag was rescinded, became an unrestricted free agent. The cornerback reportedly heard from as many as 11 interested teams, but Washington was his first and last stop.
George told Norman not to sign the franchise tag, worth $13.925 million guaranteed in 2016, because it would lessen his leverage at the negotiating table. The duo were seeking a long-term deal that averaged between $15 million and $16 million per season, which would make Norman the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. Gettleman reportedly countered with a four-year offer worth $11 million per season while at the NFL combine and never adjusted his offer throughout the remainder of negotiations.
Norman said he did not know how far apart the two sides were.
"Then again, it goes to show how much they value me," he said. "I kind of got a little read into it when they talked about who their core guys were and I wasn't mentioned in that core.
"So, shoot, man, it started all setting in my mind to where I never would have been there [long-term] anyway."
The 28-year-old CB admitted that he probably would have signed the franchise tag earlier had he known that Gettleman was on the verge of walking away.
"If I would have known, we could have come to some kind of agreement to where, all right, if this is the case, let me get this out of the way and we can work on something different," Norman said. "I didn't know all that went down like it did. If I would have known that, of course, I would have liked to have stayed there. Why would I want to leave there? But he tied my hands in the whole process."
Norman will have the opportunity to exact a bit of revenge on his former team as Washington will host Carolina Monday, Dec. 11.
Follow Brandon Katz at @Great_Katzby.
