Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman was potentially interested in signing a one-year "market value" deal with the Carolina Panthers at the last minute before general manager Dave Gettleman rescinded the club's franchise tag offer, the cornerback told ESPN on Monday.
"My agent called them up and said if they wanted to do something, like a one-year, market-value (deal)," Norman told ESPN.com. "We wanted to come back. They said they weren't willing to, so we had to do what we had to do.
"My hands were tied in the whole thing."
Norman's agent and Gettleman, of course, disagreed on "market value." A franchise tag number, which in Norman's case would have been $13.952 million, was the combination of the top five salaries at his position. While the franchise tag offers little in terms of stability, it basically defines market value.
The $13.952 million was more than Gettleman's initial offer but less than the $15 million Norman eventually received. So in the end, everyone ends up happy.
Except possibly Norman, who initially said "I got sideswiped -- I didn't see it coming," and is now talking about what he was trying to do in order to remain with the Panthers. It's an interesting case that involves agents and players who are used to playing the leverage game and a general manager coming off a Super Bowl run and near-perfect season who isn't interested in games at all. Will it go down as a misread on the part of Norman and his agents or will Gettleman end up looking cranky about the process?
Norman eventually got what he wanted. At 28, he got a deal typically reserved for corners two years younger. He has relative security into his early thirties. Gaffe or no gaffe, he has little to be upset about -- he got more than market value and ends up on a team that made the playoffs last year. It's not the Panthers, but then again, Norman had his chance to stay there too.