Washington changes course, benches Aaron Colvin instead of Josh Norman for Week 12
Update 10:23 a.m. Josh Norman won’t be heading to the bench against the Lions after all. The team has reversed its decision to mark Norman as a healthy scratch and instead will sit cornerback Aaron Colvin, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Update: Washington changed its mind today and decided to make CB Aaron Colvin inactive instead of Josh Norman, who now will be active against the Lions, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 24, 2019
Original Story: Cornerback Josh Norman, the highest-paid player on Washington’s football team, will sit for the Week 12 matchup against Detroit on Sunday as a healthy scratch.
It hasn’t even been two months since team president Bruce Allen defended his club as having a “damn good culture” following the firing of head coach Jay Gruden. Now the 1-9 franchise has reached another low with one of its biggest stars.
Norman was pulled from last Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets with defensive coordinator Greg Manusky deriding his play a few days later.
“We put him in situations to make plays and we’re just not making them,” Manusky said to the media about the 2015 Pro Bowler.
Norman is by no means the only reason why Washington is struggling as much as it is — something Manusky mentioned as well — but his benching this week is another sign of the dysfunction that’s run rampant in the organization.
There is already speculation that Norman’s time in DC has come to an end.
Josh Norman has one year left on his contract after this season. Washington would save $12.5 million against the cap next season by cutting him.
Norman was supposed to play against his former Panthers’ team next Sunday. Now, maybe not. https://t.co/1eTo4AfVuE— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 24, 2019
If that’s the case, Norman’s time in Washington will rank as one of the more colossal free agent failures in team history. The cornerback agreed to a five-year, $75 million deal back in 2016 with a $15 million signing bonus and $50 million guaranteed.
Since then, the team has finished above .500 just once (an 8-7-1 season in 2016), going 23-28 overall.
The 31-year-old was fresh off a trip to the Super Bowl with the Carolina Panthers when he made his move to Washington. That now seems like ages ago.
If Norman is done in DC, it’ll be worth seeing where he goes next. He’s certainly got time remaining in his career to write another chapter and teams will almost always spring for a player with his pedigree.
Given how bad things have gone in Washington, we may learn more about his tenure there if and when Norman joins a new club. Until then, fans making their way out to FedEx Field for the remainder of the season now have more talking points as they demand owner Dan Snyder sell the team.
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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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