Josh Norman thinks Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman is helping make Washington better.
Which is more than former Washington cornerback Fred Smoot thinks Norman is doing.
Smoot told NBCSportsWashington.com that Norman wasn’t close to living up to his contract, suggesting they part ways with him now instead of next offseason.
“You have to ask yourself, ‘Where am I expendable?’” Smoot said. “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.”
After Gettleman pulled the franchise tag from Norman in Carolina in 2016, Washington quickly gave Norman a game-changing five-year, $75 million deal. While he’s been good, he hasn’t been great, and Smoot thinks the $11 million Norman is due this year is too much.
“You wouldn’t go to a used car lot and try to pay new car prices, would you?” Smoot 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.”
Of course, cutting him now might save some cap room, but it would leave them lacking at the position at a time when there aren’t replacements to be found in free agency or the draft. And it would create another unexpected market for Norman, who would quickly find another home.