NFL News: Josh Norman Chooses Redskins Over Saints, Signs Huge Five-Year Deal For $75 Million

When the Carolina Panthers rescinded the franchise tag on cornerback Josh Norman, the NFL world stood staring in shock and awe. Many teams have been mentioned in trying to get him, but it now appears as if only two teams remain in the race, the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints. Right after the Saints were revealed as contenders, Norman ended up making the deal with Washington.

UPDATE as of 7:50 p.m. ET

Josh Norman has signed a 5-year contract with the #Redskins worth $75M, source said.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 22, 2016

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Up until Friday evening actually, it seemed like the Redskins had the clear and open path. All of a sudden, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted out that the Saints were in the running and in a big way.

As CB Josh Norman is with Redskins, Saints are making strong push to sign him, per sources. Decision down to Redskins and Saints.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 22, 2016

If there’s a team in the NFL that could use help on defense, it’s the New Orleans Saints, and Josh Norman would immediately make them better. They’ve made some good offseason moves to improve the strength of their defense, but Norman, well, he’d actually make any defense around the league better.

Pro Football Talk is reporting that everyone but the Saints and Redskins are now out of the running for Norman. That includes the San Francisco 49ers who were actually said to be strong contenders as recently as Friday morning.

Earlier in the day, NBC Bay Area reported that even though the 49ers had added just one free agent starter this offseason in guard Zane Beadles, there was the chance for another big signing. Apparently, the Niners were one of 10 teams that Norman’s representatives contacted this week after the franchise tag was rescinded.

Now, San Francisco is out.

As reported by ESPN a couple of days ago, the Carolina Panthers took the tag off of Norman when they saw no way to reach a long-term deal. That instantly made him a free agent and it was able to happen due to him never having signed the tag as he was planning on skipping offseason workouts.

Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman said that even with a lot of discussions and offers, there was no deal or agreement in sight.

“After a number of conversations with Josh’s agent we realized that a long-term deal was not attainable. 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.”

Other teams that were interested or contacted were the New York Jets, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, and Tennessee Titans. The Saints were nowhere to be found in the race for Norman, but now they’re one of the final two.

Some believe that Norman would lean toward the Saints in order to play his former team twice a year. New Orleans and Carolina are both in the NFC South and have to meet home and away every season, but if the money is right, that is where Norman is going to go.

Whether it is the New Orleans Saints or Washington Redskins that end up signing Josh Norman, it is expected that something will happen very soon. The longer the teams wait, the more likely it is that the other, or another team, will swoop in and make him an offer he can’t refuse. No matter who signs the former Carolina Panthers cornerback, that team will immediately improve their defense.

[Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images]