Josh Norman Comments on Decision to Sign with Redskins

Fresh off his surprising departure from the Carolina Panthers and with the ink dry on his new contract with Washington, Josh Norman is ready for one thing: bringing a championship back to the nation's capital.

Norman said, per Stephen Czarda of the team's official website:

"

I’m looking forward to getting back to the playoffs here. You guys went last year, I’m looking forward to going even deeper into the playoffs and then the Super Bowl. That’s our motto, that’s here, that’s the goal. That’s the ultimate goal.

Yeah, you get to playoffs, you get deep into the rounds, the divisional and then the championship. I want to win the granddaddy of them all. I want to win the Super Bowl. And I’m not going to stop until I get back there. Because I know I will one day and then make the wrong a right.

"

Norman, 28, officially signed with Washington on Friday. His contract is for five years and $75 million, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, and guarantees an NFL cornerback-record $51.1 million, per Ed Werder, also of ESPN. The deal came together rather quickly. Washington was the first visit Norman took after hitting free agency, and the team threw down the financial gauntlet to ensure he wouldn't take another.

Of course, Norman was only a free agent due to the Panthers' curious decision to rescind his franchise tag Wednesday. The move cleared Norman's $13.95 million cap number for 2016 but was almost completely unprecedented.

"When we decided to place the franchise tag on Josh, we were fine with him signing it and then working on a long-term deal," Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman said, per David Newton of ESPN.com. "As we got deeper into conversations, we realized it was a significant difference between our thoughts and theirs."

Norman said the move "came out of nowhere" and left him "sideswiped." In fact, Norman was so surprised by the surreal situation, he didn't even see Washington's overtures right away, per Czarda: 

"

When [the franchise tag was rescinded] it was crazy because Mr. Bruce (Allen), the President, hit [me] up right away with a jersey, No. 24. And the crazy thing is I didn’t see it until a day and a half later because I was still getting over the fact of what was going on.

Being somewhere 28 years all your life and just in a blink of an eye, gone, just like that, I’ve just never been without a job … That small amount of hours, everything went rapid and I came up here and it just felt right.

"

What Washington is getting is one of the best cornerbacks in football. Opposing quarterbacks posted a rating of 54.0 when throwing Norman's direction, the best in football, per Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus. He consistently shut down the NFL's best at receiver, with DeAndre Hopkins, Dez Bryant and Julio Jones among his victims.

Norman also had quite the famous encounter with New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., against whom he'll line up twice a season in the NFC East. There's no negative way to spin this. Washington bought Norman's last few years of his prime and can likely move on if the latter years get a little too expensive. Norman got his huge contract, which will pay him even more than he would have made under the franchise tag in 2016.

As for the Panthers? Well, they encounter salary-cap space at a point where every major free agent is off the market. So, there's that.

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