The Carolina Panthers rescind franchise tag on Josh Norman
Thursday 21 April 2016 10:58, UK
The Carolina Panthers made a stunning move on Wednesday as they rescinded their non-exclusive franchise tag offer on All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Norman, one of the NFL's top cornerbacks, had not signed the franchise tag offer from the Panthers which would have paid him $13.9m in 2016.
The 28-year-old Norman is now free to sign with any team in the NFL and there should be plenty of interest in his services.
"After a number of conversations with Josh's agent we realized that a long-term deal was not attainable," general manager Dave Gettleman said in a statement.
"We have decided to rescind the franchise tag freeing Josh to immediately become a UFA. We thank Josh for all his contributions and truly wish him well."
Norman wasn't in a talking mood shortly after the move was announced.
"Man, I just don't feel like talking about it right now," Norman told the Associated Press.
According to ESPN, Norman is seeking a long-term deal in the region of $16m per season, while the Panthers made one offer to him of $11m and did not move off that figure.
With the gap between the two parties so wide, Gettleman decided the best move for the Panthers was to move on and avoid the situation becoming a distraction for the team.
That decision leaves Carolina with a huge hole at the position. Their depth chart now features a trio of Bene Benwikere, Brandon Boykin and Robert McClain at the top and all three are primarily known as slot corners.
A former fifth-round draft pick, Norman had a career-high four interceptions in 2015 and helped the NFC champion Panthers lead the NFL in interceptions (24), takeaways (39), points off turnovers (148) last season. He also had 16 passes defended, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
He is unlikely to be a free agent for long, though only teams with significant cap space are likely to be able to afford his $16m-per-year demands.
The Jacksonville Jaguars currently have the most cap space in the NFL with $54.8m, according to Spotrac.com. They are followed by the San Francisco 49ers ($52.5m) and Cleveland Browns ($39.8m).
