Unhappy with his contract situation, cornerback Josh Norman hadn't planned to be with his Carolina Panthers teammates when they returned Monday for offseason workouts. But he was at least going to be on the team.
Then last Wednesday happened.
"Obviously, it came as a surprise to everybody," tight end Greg Olsen said.
Added linebacker Thomas Davis:
"Once you see the franchise tag being placed on a guy, you just know in your mind as a player that you have that guy for at least that one year."
But general manager Dave Gettleman shocked the NFL when he rescinded the tag, allowing his best cornerback to become a free agent. So instead of keeping every vital piece from a Super Bowl run, Norman's now in Washington and the Panthers have a huge hole in the secondary.
"It was disappointing, knowing that we couldn't get something worked out with one of our best players on defense," Davis said.
"As players, we understand that this is a business, and you have to do what's best for the team. The best move that Mr. Gettleman and Coach Rivera and the whole organization felt like was to move on from the player and put the team in the best situation that we could be in moving forward with being able to sign some of our guys that we have to take care of moving forward."
The Panthers were already hoping to work out a long-term deal with defensive tackle Kawann Short sometime this offseason. Freeing up the $13.95 million previously earmarked for Norman should make that even more of a no-brainer. With the Panthers currently about $31 million under the cap, defensive tackle Star Lotulelei and linebacker A.J. Klein could also land extensions.
For a team intent on keeping its core intact, the Norman shocker shows where he stood. Gettleman did want to work out a long-term deal, but the two sides were miles apart in how that contract should look.
"We have to trust in Dave and his staff. They’ve gotten us to a pretty good place right now," Olsen said.
"I don’t think anyone would sit here and say you want to lose good players. You don't want to lose guys that are some of the best in the league at what they do. I don’t think anyone would pretend that’s the goal. But sometimes things don’t always go your way; sometimes things don’t always play out in the ideal situation. I think this one would be a pretty good example of that."
So while his now ex-teammates gathered at Bank of America Stadium, Norman was getting acquainted with his new home. It's not a move he wanted to make, as evidenced by his last-ditch attempt to stay in Carolina.
Time will tell if the Panthers made the right call. But if the NFL truly is a business, this business decision worked out just fine for Norman.
"Josh has worked extremely hard to earn everything that he's received. So while it was disappointing to see him leave, you can't help but be excited for the kid," Davis said.
And Olsen agreed.
"I’m happy for Josh. He bet on himself a handful of times this year, and there is something to be said and a lot of credit that’s deserved for a guy who had confidence in himself to not only not take that deal last year, but to play all season at a high level," Olsen said.
"I don’t think you’ll find a guy here that doesn’t wish him the best. Unfortunately, it’s no longer here with us."