Josh Norman Sounds Off on Carolina Panthers, Roger Goodell, and Odell Beckham Jr
Cornerback Josh Norman burst onto the scene last season with the Carolina Panthers by shutting down some of the top wide receivers in the NFL. Then Norman got into it on the field with New York Giants superstar Odell Beckham Jr and became an overnight sensation.
Norman put some pressure on Beckham early; however, OBJ burned him down the stretch. Norman hasn’t stopped talking about it since. In reality, he hasn’t stopped talking in general.
Something clicked in Norman’s brain that day, making him exponentially more arrogant. Now, the self-proclaimed “best cornerback on earth” feels he has the right to rag on anyone and everyone after signing his new five-year, $75 million deal with the Washington Redskins.
“Straight horrible” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell took the majority of the heat.
“I get that he makes the owners money, but literally, anyone could do that,” said Norman. “A dog could. He’s a dog in a suit.”
I’m by no stretch of the imagination a fan of Goodell, but as a player, Norman should know better than to be so blunt. It’s usually not a good idea to insult the judge, jury, and executioner.
On the Panthers and his decision to leave after a Super Bowl 50 appearance, Norman feels they only cared about Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly.
“They kind of shunned me,” said Norman. “They turned down a lot of stuff for me, interviews, sponsorship deals, stuff I didn’t even know about. They wanted it to be about the main two guys, Cam and Luke.”
While Norman is somewhat popular right now, I have a hard time believing that he was offered anything big enough to encroach on Cam and Luke’s big name deals. Josh offers no evidence with this claim, of course, but I would love to hear more.
Finally, it wouldn’t be a Josh Norman interview without talking about Beckham. After all, that’s the only reason anyone’s talking to Norman right now.
“I’ve already got a couple people telling me, ‘Okay, I’ve got a hit out on him.’ It’s going to be rough for him this year. And he brought it on himself.”
So defenders didn’t want to stop him the past two seasons? Good luck with that, Josh.