Not really. They need money to sign Short and Star. They will get a good comp pick (probably 3rd) that is tradable next year. He had one good year as a cover 3 corner.
Cornerbacks just can't impact the game the way other positions can, and it's easy to work around corners for the most part. What made Revis so damn unique, in his prime, in that aspect was his ability to follow the opposing teams number one receiver all over the field without fail. Left side, right side, in the slot, in motion, navigating through picks. He shut down the #1 receiver regardless of where that player was. Sherman's amazing, Peterson and Haden are both good corners, Norman has excellent ball skills. I just don't think any of them could be counted on like 08-10 Revis could be, especially considering Sherman and Norman are planted zone corners in one spot, in one scheme, and Peterson has a perpentuancy to get beat deep and allow players into his head. Talib and Chris Harris Jr. make the best tandem in the league and their combined average salary is $18 million a year. Peterson averages $14.5 million a year, while Sherman averages $14 million a year, and of course Revis averages $14 million with a ludicrous salary of $17+ million this upcoming year and our pass rush looks like it's going to take a hit if Wilkerson is traded. Who would your rather have? Only Revis or Norman, or Talib/Harris for a little bit more money? The answer is obvious.
Exactly. If they want to keep Norman they'd have to be paying him $15 million+ as he enters his 30s. They need to retain Short and Lotulelei in order to maximize their best players talents (Kuechly) throughout his prime. Kuechly is a once in a generation talent that if protected by his defensive line will alone keep a defense ranked in the top 15. He's that good. The only big problem is that losing Norman creates a gaping hole in an already weak secondary. Expect them to draft a couple of corners/a safety this year.
The Panthers didn't want to mortgage the future in the defensive backfield. The Patriots didn't want to do it either when they had Ty Law and Darrelle Revis under contract. The Steelers don't want to do that. CB is a soft position in the NFL at this point. If you want to run a press man defense it's less soft however that requires other working pieces, like a great rush LB and a stout run defense, to really pay off in the end. We're all hypnotized into thinking that CB is a must have star position, however you can just as easily run a Cover 2 and do well with lesser personnel at the position. How many Randy Moss-type receivers are there in the NFL where you get beat outside and deep all the time? Most of the top receivers right now are underneath guys who can break a long one now and then when the defense gets caught cheating on the play.
He supposedly wants to play for a California team. The 49ers have 56 million dollars of cap space, and that is the favorite to sign him.
Carolina giving him 15 mil like we are handing Fitz the same...no way Good luck to you and your BB bat, cya
I admire the guy's competitiveness. If I am handing out big dollars to a player I'd want it to be a guy who puts everything on the field like Norman does. I loved when he made that pussy Beckham Jr. his bitch. I hope he gets big money from some team (NFC please) because its well deserved. This is a guy who walked on to a Div I-AA team and made himself the player he is today
Exactly... benefited from playing Zone and getting safety help. Good player but can't isolate a top WR so he shouldnt be paid like one. Nmandi Asomugha comes to mind
Can someone explain this move? If this were the Jets I'd be upset He might be a little overrated but he's still a very good player Just saw an article that the Jets are interested...Schefter just tweeted it as well
King, we have been discussing it, the team does not want to pay their 28 year old CB 15 million dollars a year. They have a LT, and a MLB that are more important to that team.Thats where the money is going to go.
Its still a head scratcher from the standpoint that they could've just kept him on the franchise tag for a year and made another run at the SB before deciding they didn't want to pay him 15 mill going forward. Or, hell, even if they didn't want him on the books for this season they could've just traded him and gotten something out of it. Or, hell, even if they didn't want him on the books for this season they could've decided this much earlier, not given him the franchise tag at all, and they might've been able to use their savings during FA period instead of now when only slim pickings are left. It was a bonehead move on many levels for Carolina - no matter how you feel about paying CBs. They must have owed his agent a favor or something that's the only thing I can think. One thing about Wilkerson, no matter what we decide in terms of paying him or not, he's a valuable chip at Mccagnan's disposal. We might not be able to come to a long term deal with him but if we wanna use him in a trade he's valuable or play out the string and appreciate his services for one more year. This decision from Carolina would be like Mccagnan ditching that Wilkerson mint for no reason with no return whatsoever.
It may have been that they tried to trade him and there were no takers, so instead of being in a situation where there is no advantage for the team, they just parted ways with him. Mo is definitely a bigger chip to have, no doubt about it.
He's 28. A long term contract would have taken him to 33 at lots of impact on the cap. They might have re-signed him if he was 26.