Josh Norman Wonders: 'Is This a Family Way of Doing Things?'

It had been nine days since Josh Norman last appeared in a big, shareable story. That relative silence wasn't going to last much longer.

The latest account from the former Carolina Panthers' cornerback dropped Thursday in a piece dispatched from D.C. by MMQB's Emily Kaplan. In it, Norman disclosed a few more details about what happened after his sudden divorce from the Panthers and included his first real shot at general manager Dave Gettleman.

"He has no ties to me. He didn’t bring me in. I had been there five years, busting my tail, giving it everything I had. I was blue-collar to the core," Norman said. "And they talk so much about this being a family deal—well, dang, you could have at least let me know. You want to be a family, but honestly, is this a family way of doing things?

"This was a freaking gut punch, ... Don’t they know how bad I want to be here? Couldn’t they have given me warning?"

A day after rescinding the franchise tag he had placed on Norman, Gettleman said he made his unprecedented decision when it became clear the two sides wouldn't be able to work out a long-term deal. Despite reports that said the Panthers offered their top corner a four-year, $44 million deal, Caplan confirmed Gettleman was willing to go as high as $12 million for five years.

Of course, that still wouldn't have appeased Norman, who eventually got what he wanted from Washington: five years, $75-million and a chance to silence his critics by playing more man-to-man.

"In Carolina everything was defined,” Norman said. "It was black and white and some gray. Here everything is gray—it’s more free. I can not just be in a scheme, but be a football player. I have a little more freedom. The shackles have been broken off, and man, I’m going to show them something they’ve never seen before."

According to Norman, of the 16 teams who called when he became a free agent, some offered more money than the Redskins. Those suitors may have included the 49ers, Dolphins and Rams or Carolina's NFC South rivals Tampa Bay and New Orleans.

"I would have loved playing for (Saints) Coach Payton, and, oh, I would have loved the opportunity to play Carolina twice [a year]," Norman said. "But that shouldn’t be the sole reason for me going there."

Now he'll have to settle for playing the Panthers just once this year. And he has just seven more months to talk until that Week 15 meeting in D.C.

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ProGunHallmarker

boo hoo cry me a river norman. you knew this day was coming and you knew the Panthers couldn’t afford to pay you what you think you deserve…speaking of family let’s talk about the player formerly known as Big Money aka Charles Johnson. Since he as been a Panther he has taken cut after cut to help the Panthers organization succeed. He was even CUT by the Panthers and then came back at a significantly reduced paygrade because that is what family does. They help out when and where they can. You’ve got some big balls to be throwing shade at the Panthers claiming they aren’t acting like a family should when YOU were the one threatening to sit out of OTAs and YOU were the one demanding a huge pay increase. And out of the other side of your mouth you’re talking about it being a business decision and it’s all business…you can’t have it both ways. If you truly wanted to stay, you should’ve taken several chapters out of Charles Johnson’s book on integrity and on being a real man.
- Eric
  
  You know Big Money got a massive Hurney contract right? CJ had plenty to give back. He has almost performed up to the contract, I’m not complaining, just saying… Josh hadn’t had his big pay day yet.
  - Flex On My Ex
    
    I see what your saying, but with that said, if we look at it like that then we’d be saying it’s ok to remain mediocre as long as we keep the guys we like. That’s why Hurney is gone and that’s why Norman is in Washington, he played the game and lost now he’s bitter. Like he said “It’s just good business, it’s not personal”, but i guess he forgot that last part.
    Gettlemen – 1
    JNo24 – 0
Flex On My Ex

Please stop Josh, If we speculated on the outside you’re time was winding down then you knew you were forcing that hand. You didn’t care about the team you cared about you and your family. Not a bad angle, but don’t pretend they didn’t allow for what you wanted. Go away.
Keith Bailey

“This was a freaking gut punch, … Don’t they know how bad I want to be here?” – hahaha yeah, not bad enough to sign the contract in front of you. His decision is now sinking in, and he can’t be happy about his future vs. the Panthers’ future.
Ingettlemenwetrust

Josh who?
NorthSask

I’m not surprised that he feels the way he does. But, he seems to take zero responsibility for not knowing how poorly negotiations were going. And in the end, it is his contract, he is responsible for making sure he is kept in the loop. It’s funny how he says he wanted to be in Carolina so bad, and then complains about the system. Josh Norman couldn’t stay on the field for 2 1/2 years and the guy who hasn’t been mentioned nearly enough in all this drama is Steve Wilks. Coach Wilks played such a big part in making Josh Norman the player he is today, I don’t know if Josh has given him his due praise or not, but I haven’t seen it. It will be interesting to see what happens with Norman playing in a “less defined” defense, that is for sure.
josh g.

I just wish he would shut up. I’m tired of hearing him. He talks about all the things that were wrong with the D being black and white but somehow we were one of the top D’s in the league so something is working. Just go away please
disqus_uD4oT5bwAq

Talk like a man, well act like a man and own up to the fact that neither you nor your agent was up to the task of negotiating a deal with an NFL team, one you were part of. You messed up the negotiation, essentially walked away. That’s what you did #24.
JP

He’s hurt. I get it. Sucks, I liked him as a player and as a person (from what i know). Wish we could have kept him. But I wish him the best in Washington.
spiraled

You can’t have your cake and eat it, too, Josh. If you had the capacity to think outside yourself you’d realize the team was never in position to pay you that kind of money. If you really wanted to be here, a little compromise on your end would have helped. But you decided to max out you earning potential.

Nothing wrong with that, but it was never going to happen in Carolina. The Panthers did you a favor releasing you so you could get a huge deal before you turned 30. You should be thanking the organization for putting you in a position to get the extra however many millions you’ll make now.

The culture in Carolina is a family culture. That’s why they released you instead of allowing you to draw out negotiations and become a huge distraction.

And before you go crying more about Richardson, perhaps you should fully realize who you work for now…Dan Snyder. Perhaps the NFL’s worst owner. Have fun with all that! And stop crying. You are stinking rich and no one wants to hear your tales of woe.
Ben M

Josh’s accountant should be proud. The man will make more money than any of us could possibly imagine.
But Josh should stop dwelling on the team he left. For that much money he can hire an interview coach or PR man.
Ryan

If you wanted to be here so bad then you should have signed your tag. Threatening to not be there for camp and overall acting like you don’t want to be here, then when you got dropped you act surprised.

Black and Blue Review

Black and Blue Review

Josh Norman Wonders: ‘Is This a Family Way of Doing Things?’