Did Panthers Make Big Mistake or Brilliant Calculation Letting Josh Norman Walk?

Just one week before the NFL draft, surprising news is anything but. Wednesday was no exception, with the Philadelphia Eagles announcing the second blockbuster draft-pick trade of the last week.

However, it was a move involving an established player that dropped jaws around the NFL. In rescinding the franchise tag on cornerback Josh Norman, the Carolina Panthers essentially threw in the towel on one of the cornerstones of a defense the team rode to a berth in Super Bowl 50.

It was a stunning move. But was it a panic-inspired mistake or a shrewd call by a Panthers team willing to sacrifice a piece—any piece—if it best serves the whole?

ESPN's Adam Schefter was among the first to drop Wednesday's second NFL news bombshell:

Not long after the news broke, Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman released a statement bidding adieu to the 28-year-old, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com.

"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."

To say this turn of events threw the Twitterverse into a frenzy would be something of an understatement. Even NFL players were flabbergasted by the news:

And why wouldn't they be? Norman spent much of a 2015 season in which he amassed 56 tackles, four interceptions and three forced fumbles as a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Norman was arguably the defensive MVP of a team that lost all of two games—one being Super Bowl 50.

Norman finished the season as the sixth-ranked cornerback at Pro Football Focus. His passer rating against of 54.0 was the lowest allowed by any player at the position.

Norman was one of the best players in all of football at a position that carries a high premium in today's pass-wacky NFL. No one batted an eye when the Panthers tagged Norman at almost $14 million for the upcoming season.

And while little progress had been made on a long-term extension, there was still plenty of time to get a deal done. As David Newton of ESPN.com reported, Norman certainly sounded during a radio interview this past weekend like a player who expected to be in Denver when the Panthers open the 2016 season against the Broncos:

"

You couldn't ask for a better written script that could happen for us. We can pretty much right the wrong. Everything else will be justified. We didn't play our best game. Everybody knows that. It's not nothing we're going to be shameful to say.

If we can go up there and put an exclamation point on what happened in the Super Bowl, that will give us a little bit of justification, a little bit of satisfaction knowing that it could have been a different outcome.

"

Well, that script has been rewritten in a big way. Talk about a plot twist.

And it's a twist that left Norman in no mood to talk, according to Steve Reed of the Associated Press:

There's no denying that Wednesday's news was a shock. However, in some respects maybe it shouldn't have been.

According to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer, Norman was seeking a contract that would pay him around $16 million per season. Per the salary figures at Spotrac, that would make Norman the league's highest-paid cornerback—by a sizable margin.

Player	Team	Age	Yrs.	Total	AAS
Darrelle Revis	NYJ	30	5	$70.12M	$14.02M
Patrick Peterson	AZ	25	5	$70.05M	$14.01M
Richard Sherman	SEA	28	4	$56M	$14M
Trumaine Johnson*	LAR	26	1	$13.95M	$13.95M
Joe Haden	CLE	27	5	$67.5M	$13.5M

And with all due respect to Norman's stellar 2015 campaign, he just doesn't have the resume that a Darrelle Revis or Richard Sherman does. In fact, last year marked Norman's first full season as a full-time starter. It's also only the second time in four NFL seasons Norman played in all 16 games.

There's also the matter of his age. Norman will be 29 by the time the 2016 season ends. And as Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus pointed out, cornerback is not a position where players age especially well:

However, the problem there is that Carolina head coach Ron Rivera made a point of telling Jonathan Jones of the Observer back in February that he didn't feel age was a big factor with Norman:

"

Remember he didn’t play an awful lot earlier in his career. And then now he’s starting to play a lot. No I’m not concerned that he’s going to be a worn-down body or anything like that.

I’m excited that (general manager) Dave (Gettleman) has talked about what they’re going to try to do and the direction they’re going to try and head with that whole situation. We’ll see how it all unfolds but I’m pretty optimistic.

"

That's the rub. Norman's demands and age were hardly state secrets prior to Wednesday, but there was no indication the Panthers were even considering a step this drastic. It doesn't appear they even made any real effort to pursue a trade. Gettleman just waved goodbye and showed Norman the door.

Glancing at the Panthers depth chart at cornerback doesn't shed any more light on the choice. In fact, it makes it all the more curious. If the Panthers had a glaring weakness last year, it was at cornerback opposite Norman, where they were forced to turn to retreads like Cortland Finnegan and Robert McClain.

The Panthers added Brandon Boykin in free agency, but now a player signed to complement Norman is suddenly tasked with replacing him.

That suddenness creates a great deal of uncertainty. There's uncertainty about the real reason Norman was let go. Were the two sides that far apart in talks? Is there a medical issue we don't know about? League discipline coming? Is Norman a space alien?

What? They're here, people. You were warned.

It also creates more than a bit of uncertainty regarding Norman's future. Had Norman hit the market back in March, there would have been a frenzy of bidding for his services. Don't you doubt for one second that the New York Giants, who spent Yuuge! money in free agency this year, would rather have Norman at $16 million than Janoris Jenkins at $12 million and change.

Yes, there are still suitors, such as the San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars, who have the cap space necessary to accommodate a megadeal for Norman.

What we don't know is if they have the inclination to sign him. Never mind that for Norman it would mean switching from a Super Bowl contender to a bottom-feeder.

That's the theme where the Panthers' decision to say farewell to Norman is concerned. We just don't know.

We don't know the totality of the circumstances that led to Norman going from key contributor to castoff.

We don't know which team will cede to Norman's desire to be the NFL's highest-paid cornerback—or if Norman's dream will even come true.

And we don't know if this is a move that's financially savvy or football suicide. It's an answer we might not know for many months, until we see both how Norman impacts his new team and how his loss impacts the Carolina secondary.

To Gettleman's credit, he's been here before. When Steve Smith became unhappy in Charlotte and Gettleman cut bait (without hesitation), there was a ton of speculation regarding the team's dire straits at wide receiver. It happened again when Kelvin Benjamin was injured last offseason. In both cases, the team weathered the storm—pretty well, if you consider a Super Bowl trip "weathering."

Lesser-known players filled the void. Under-the-radar additions like Ted Ginn Jr. paid big dividends. And the Panthers persevered. Thrived, even.

But how many times can a team shed star players before the attrition catches up? We don't know that, either.

This, however, we do know.

Having those sorts of questions, and that sort of uncertainty, hanging over a team with Super Bowl aspirations is bad.

Those questions and that uncertainty suddenly appearing out of nowhere one week before the NFL draft is infinitely worse.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPSharks.