49ers Sign Cornerback Josh Norman

The San Francisco 49ers have signed veteran cornerback Josh Norman to a one-year deal per Jay Glazer of Fox Sports.

More depth is on the way at cornerback. 

The San Francisco 49ers have signed veteran cornerback Josh Norman to a one-year deal per Jay Glazer of Fox Sports.

Norman last played with the Buffalo Bills in 2020 where he carved out a starting role for three games opposite of Tre’Davious White. Norman was fairly solid as the No. 2 cornerback for the Bulls en route to an AFC title game appearance. For the 49ers to bring him in as depth is pretty sweet move for them. Norman is actually a player I have mentioned that the 49ers should bring if they still felt uncomfortable with the depth at cornerback.

The fact that the 49ers ended up inking a deal reveals just how uncomfortable they are. Outside of Jason Verrett and Emmanuel Moseley, there isn’t a player who the 49ers can confidently roll out. Rookie Deommodore Lenoir has stepped up strongly since training camp started, but he is just one player the 49ers can feel sufficient with. And there is a chance he can be the backup nickel since he started receiving reps there. K’Waun Williams is an injury prone player, so Lenoir could be called up soon. 

Perhaps the Norman signing is an indictment of rookie Ambry Thomas, who looked rather poor in the preseason and had a lot of highs/lows throughout camp. Depth at cornerback was desperately needed. Despite a stellar 2020 season, Verrett’s injury history cannot be neglected. It is just one season he has shown to be healthy. 2021 could revert back to his injury prone ways.

Regardless, the 49ers needed to make a move and they got just the right player in Norman for them should need for a starter arise.