Carolina Panthers: 5 Best Moves So Far in 2016
1: Franchising Josh Norman
Norman’s play at the cornerback position was special this past year. He kept his side of the field relatively clean. If he had gone there would be no guarantee that the Panthers could found a replacement for him that could do the things he can do.
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So it was important for the Panthers not to lose him. While a long term deal would have been more desirable for the sake of stability, the franchise tag was the cheaper option this year. Norman, to his credit, has said that he will not hold out from training camp as some players have chosen to do when they were franchised.
So the Panthers have the important elements of their defense back. They have adequate depth on the defensive line. They have their best secondary player coming back and hopefully Bene Benwikere will be healthy too. The blue print looks familiar.
Next: Panthers Twenty Year Team
All that is missing now are the details, and the place that provides those details is the NFL Draft. We are still about a month away from that event, so enjoy some basketball in the meantime.