The Washington Redskins' struggles against Drew Brees on Monday Night Football were exacerbated by Josh Norman's benching by coach Jay Gruden in the second half of the 43-19 loss.
Gruden benched Norman for listening to music on headphones in the locker room at halftime while the coach was addressing the team, a source informed of the situation told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. Norman didn't realize Gruden was speaking when he put the headphones on, which prompted Gruden to yank the headphones off his head, leaving Norman in a momentary state of disbelief, sources told Rapoport.
Instead of arguing with Gruden, Norman removed himself from the situation and headed to the bathroom. Gruden didn't like Norman's response to the situation by walking away, and decided to bench him, per Rapoport.
Norman and Gruden later talked about what happened and put it behind them. There will be no additional discipline, Rapoport reported.
The incident was first reported by podcaster Kevin Sheehan.
It'll be interesting to see how Norman and the Redskins respond this week against the Carolina Panthers. His rocky performance against the Saints -- he allowed two touchdowns on two targets, and a 158.3 passer rating, per Pro Football Focus -- led many to initially believe Norman was benched for performance reasons.
