Josh Norman Apologizes for Amari Cooper Rant Last Season

Josh Norman ripped Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree last season when he alleged that the Oakland Raiders receivers had said they would put up 200 yards combined against the Washington Redskins secondary.

As it turns out, they never made those comments in the first place.

Appearing on The Glass Case of Emotion podcast with NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney (h/t AL.com's Mark Inabinett), Norman explained he was led to believe the Silver and Black wideouts made those claims based on what he was told by defensive lineman Jonathan Allen.

"I really wanted to come out there and make sure they knew, like 'Please don't disrespect us before the game,'" Norman said. "...Basically, I found out that he lied to me about the whole thing. So I'm like, 'He didn't say all that?'"

"So I felt bad I couldn't take it back," Norman told a Raiders fan in the audience. "So I'm apologizing now to you."

Norman wasn't in such a forgiving mood last September after Crabtree and Cooper combined for two catches in Oakland's 27-10 loss to Washington, according to ESPN.com's John Keim:

"I mean, first and foremost, you don't come up in here and say what you're going to put up on somebody. Two hundred yards? [Crabtree] didn't catch two balls. He only caught one, huh? So please, whatever you do, do not run your mouth if you're a wide receiver and expect to show up on Sundays, because I'm telling you, we are here and we are waiting. ...

"Whatever that young cat said, Coop, go and take it back. Crabtree? I have nothing to say to you. Yes, I may be Cover 2, but I'm Cover 1 too. I'm Cover 1, Cover 2, Cover 3 and Cover 4. All of them. All of the ingredients to make a perfect attack. We do all the extra stuff. When you come out on this field, you going to see about us."

Norman won't face Cooper's Raiders or Crabtree's Baltimore Ravens in 2018.