The window for the New England Patriots to win a championship closes a bit with the departure of Malcolm Butler but one reporter sees a solution by kicking the tires on a former All-Pro.
Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman bursted onto the scene in 2015 with the Carolina Panthers as he held DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans, T. Y. Hilton, Dez Bryant, and Julio Jones to a combined nine receptions for 89 yards in the first 14 weeks of the season.
Resuliting in a First Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl nod, as well as being ranked No.11 on the NFL’s Top 100 by his peers, the writing on the wall was that Norman was going to get paid and yes he was. The Redskins signed Norman to a 5-year, $75 million contract which at the time made him the highest paid cornerback in NFL history.
Norman picked up right where he left in 2016 with 67 combined tackles, four interceptions, and two forced fumbles. While not the ball hawking player he was in ’15, or ’16, Norman still remained a scrappy physical player in 2017 with 64 combined tackles, two forced fumbles, and nine defended passes.
Now with the Redskins starving for draft picks and the Patriots in need for All-Pro talent opposite Stephon Gilmore, CBS insider Jason La Canfora claims that the reigning AFC Champions trading for Norman would be a very wise move.
Bill Belichick is clearly in win-now mode and he lost a Super Bowl primarily because he couldn’t find any way to stop Foles. Sitting Malcolm Butler backfired and he’s going to leave for big money as a free agent. Finding any help for the pass rush will be difficult outside of the draft and that secondary needs help even with Stephon Gilmore getting paid a year ago. They can rent Norman year to year at this stage of the contract and his full guarantees have been paid. He’s not a happy camper in DC and clashing with the front office and Washington already dealt one corner for Alex Smith so why not unload ’em all! But seriously, Belichick is never afraid to wheel and deal and the Skins needs picks and New England has had mixed results with this stuff in the past.
– Per La Canfora
Now if you’re wondering, yes Norman is an upgrade over Butler in more ways than one. The former Panther is great in coverage, aggressive on the ball and is among the best tackling cornerbacks in the NFL.
However, the one thing that can hold the Patriots from dealing a selection for Norman is his $13.5 million he’s due in based salary as well as a cap hit of almost $17 million. In comparison, this is not that far off from the price the Patriots paid Darrelle Revis dishing out $12 million in one year for at the time arguably the best cornerback in football.
The Patriots need to make a move and trading a measly middle round selection for one of the best cornerbacks in football, would be a perfect solution to not only replace Butler, but to grab an upgrade.
What do you think Patriots fans? Is Norman a good fit? Give us your opinion and comment below.
