A reunion became official on Monday morning as the Buffalo Bills signed 32-year old cornerback Josh Norman to a one-year deal worth six million dollars, with incentives that can be earned up to eight million. The signing was first reported by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
Sources: #Bills have agreed to terms with CB Josh Norman to a one-year deal worth $6 million base value with incentives that can get him to $8 million. Norman reunites with Sean McDermott, his defensive coordinator all four seasons with the #Panthers.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 9, 2020
Norman is back in the defensive scheme under Sean McDermott, where both men spent time in Carolina from 2012-2015. In his last season with the Panthers, Norman was a First-Team All Pro Corner who was selected into the Pro Bowl. Since going to Washington in 2016, Norman has not had the greatest couple of seasons.
His last two seasons, his coverage game has declined heavily. He has given up 15 touchdowns and has allowed 13.6 yards per catch.
McDermott helped turned Norman into an All-Pro corner in Carolina, and he is hoping to get near the same production out of him in Buffalo. Norman will be brought in to challenge Levi Wallace for the second corner spot, who had some ups and downs last season.
With this signing, it is fairly certain that Kevin Johnson will be on a new team next season. Even with his improvement from last season down the stretch, it did not look to be enough to get himself a new contract with the Bills. Norman will fill in for his role in the secondary.
Low Risk/High Reward
Even with his rough two seasons, the Bills can still pan out in the end from this signing. If Norman can produce half of his results he had in Carolina, the Bills will look great from a business point of view. Norman will bring competition to the secondary and a fiery personality that the Bills have not had the last couple of seasons.
Even if Norman does not perform well this season, it was not a big hit on the cap space and the deal is only for one year. Not a bad move by Brandon Beane, but it does come with concerns.
-Brandon Ray is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the Buffalo Bills. Make sure to follow Brandon on Twitter at @brandon_ray79.
