It May Take Some Convincing but Josh Norman Hasn't Ruled Out Playing in 2023
Last year, Cam Newton made his return to the Carolina Panthers. This year, it was Josh Norman who made his way back to the organization.
The team made the move to help replenish a cornerback room that had lost starting cornerback Jaycee Horn to a broken wrist and had seen struggles from C.J. Henderson and Keith Taylor Jr. Carolina needed depth at the position and felt like it would benefit them to bring in a guy that already had a previous relationship with the staff and knew the basics of the defense.
Interim head coach Steve Wilks knew that it would take some time for the 35-year-old to get caught up to speed, viewing this as more of a move for the postseason had the Panthers won out. Norman played in just 10 defensive snaps in the team's Week 17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but did play in 100% of the snaps (60) in the final game of the regular season in the win over New Orleans.
It may have been a brief return to the Panthers but many are wondering whether or not Norman will run it back for one more year before officially hanging up the cleats. To get the answer, I went straight to the source and asked Josh point blank if there is any chance of returning in 2023.
"Honestly bro, those two guys right there in the corner [Jaycee Horn and Donte Jackson], those two guys right over there are going to have to tug at me hard. I ain't going to lie. If they're like, dang, come on man we cannot do this without you kind of thing...I don't know. Seeing their growth and their evolution is really what I would come back for. Obviously championship [too]. It's the only thing I haven't done in my career. Like, I've kind of done everything. Like what else more you want me to do? It's kind of what we want to do. At the end of the day, like, the only thing we need to do is just...win a championship. Sh*t, we went already we just didn't win it."
Since the day the Panthers drafted Jaycee Horn, many have compared his physicality, playmaking abilities, and swagger to that of Norman. Unfortunately, the two never played together but Norman didn't need to share the field with him to know the talent that Horn possesses.
"We haven't been able to work like that because he been hurt...I mean, obviously, I've seen his film and he just flashes on the screen like no other. His talent is out the roof. He's got great DNA. When he was at South Carolina he was a dog. So coming in here and playing against wide receivers in the league, it's the same mentality. He has the talent to be an All-Pro. He's going to have his own mantra, his own way of doing things which is kind of cool too because it's him. And if I can help that out, obviously I'm going to and I'm willing to but again, that's all Jaycee. The sky is the limit."
Norman's future isn't tied to any one man - be it Horn or Wilks. But obviously, there is a fondness for helping Horn take his game to the next level. So, Jayee, it's time to put your recruiting hat on.
As for Wilks, Norman firmly believes the job should be his. He talked at length about how he's the only guy out there that's seen both ends of the spectrum with this franchise and that it would only make sense to give the job to a guy that knows how to steer this thing back in the right direction.
"It's not that [far] off [from being a playoff team]. I mean listen, we only lost one game to go to the playoffs. At the end of the day, taking that into consideration from what it was before...it had no hope. It was dead. You could have hanged it up. They probably would have had trash bags in the stands if it weren't for this situation. So I don't think people realize that we got to look at it and say we didn't have trash bags in the stadium. You remember that 2-14 year? It was pretty bad. And now, it's like, it could have been that but it wasn't. He righted the ship, so you got to give him credit for that."
What was most impressive about the job that Wilks did was that he had to convince an entire locker room to buy into his vision on the fly and then go out and execute it, which they did. He didn't have an entire offseason to do it. He didn't piece together this coaching staff. He didn't put together this roster. He made the most of what he had to work with. If you give him an opportunity to mold this thing to the way he wants it, it's going to be a problem for the rest of the NFL. At least that's what Norman believes.
"Watch out. Teams better watch out. There's going to be some trouble. I mean, you kind of saw what guys bought into in just the time that he did have. Just imagine if he had a real one going for him. You know? What chance do you really have? Obviously, it's not an overnight success story. Obviously, you got to build upon it. It's going to take a couple years to get that mantra and mindset to what he's coaching and teaching. But I'm telling you, these guys already bought in."
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