When the Carolina Panthers advanced and ultimately lost in the Super Bowl to the New England Patriots years ago, Josh Norman became the biggest free agent cornerback on the market at the time after the Panthers rescinded their franchise tag and released him.
He would soon sign a 5-year, $75 million deal with the Washington Redskins, which made him the highest paid CB at that time.
He brought some enormous hype with him to Washington, something that Freed Smoot doesn’t think he has lived up to.
The former Redskins cornerback recently spoke out about Norman on the “Redskins Talk Podcast,” where he explained why the team needs to part ways with him.
“You have to ask yourself, ‘Where am I expendable?'” Smoot said on the pod. “I’m going to look at that big cap number that Josh Norman has and that’s going to make me want to release him.”
Head coach Jay Gruden expressed how the team needs more from Norman on the field, but Smoot doesn’t feel like the team needs to wait any longer.
“You wouldn’t go to a used car lot and try to pay new car prices, would you?” he said. “At the end of the day, for what we pay for this guy, we’re not getting that return on that investment. I’m sorry, we paid too much for the car, it’s time we trade it back in.”
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To replace Norman — Smoot seems to be high on rookie DB Jimmy Moreland.
“He’s got a lot of what I like,” Smoot said of the Day 3 selection. “He plays with a lot of emotion. He’s got elite ball skills… I think he’s going to be one of these guys that you find in the seventh round that’s going to end up having a 10, 12-year career. This guy could be a Pro Bowler, he has that type of skill set.”
Norman has two years left on the five-year deal he signed with the Redskins back in 2016.
“The best thing you can ever have with your football team is you have to cut people that other people want on their team,” he said. “If you have to cut good players, that means you have the right group of guys.”
