Panthers use franchise tag on All-Pro CB Josh Norman

The NFC champion Carolina Panthers placed the franchise tag on All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman Tuesday. He didn’t add to his interceptions total over the final 12 regular-season games, but he finished with an NFL-best 54.0 passer rating against, according to Pro Football Focus. Although Norman doesn’t have a long track record of success, he still should be set for a nice payday if the Panthers try to negotiate a long-term extension with him this spring. The non-exclusive franchise tag means that should those players sign with another team, that team would owe two first-round picks to the tagging team.

Norman and the Panthers have until a July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players to work out a long-term contract.

Carolina coach Ron Rivera feels Norman is just scratching the surface of his abilities.

Provided he maintains the level of play he’s shown over the past year or so, Norman will be well worth the top dollar he commanded and likely secure a big, multi-year contract in Carolina soon enough.

Norman remained optimistic up until the franchise tag deadline, telling the Charlotte Observer, “It’s a business, at the end of the day, and nothing is ever personal”, Norman said. They enter the offseason about $26 million under the league’s 2016 salary cap and most of their top players are under contract for next season with the exception of All-Pro fullback Mike Tolbert. “It’s not personal with them”. Norman had 18 passes defensed and four interceptions, forced three fumbles and made 56 combined tackles.

Norman essentially doubled his value during the 2016 season, ultimately ending in the Panthers designating him as their franchise player. Norman, who was 24 years old when drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 draft by the Panthers, has a lot of playing time left in his career considering he is now 28 years old.