The Buffalo Bills signed veteran cornerback Josh Norman on Monday, according to reports. The team has yet to announce the move, but the deal seems to just need the ink to dry on it.
Norman’s addition hit as an interesting topic. One with layer. It’s not one everyone will welcome with open arms, but during their time with the franchise, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane have given fans a sense of being open to moves they dub appropriate. Time will tell if the pair were right about adding the defensive back.
With the dust settling from the initial announcement of Norman signing, here are six takeaways from the Bills’ decision to sign him:
Wasn’t a minimal deal
Much first reaction to the Bills’ agreeing to terms with Norman was met with the mantra that this is a cheap, inexpensive deal. Is it the five-year, $75 million deal Norman previously signed with the Redskins? Of course not, but by a few comparisons, the Bills did flex their cap space a bit here.
In previous seasons, Buffalo has opted to put a more-veteran option across from No. 1 cornerback Tre’Davious White. But the Bills spent less on those options. Kevin Johnson was a $3 million investment to compete with Levi Wallace for that role last season. Prior to that, there was Vontae Davis who clearly did not pan out. Davis saw his deal guarantee just $3.5 million of it, with it going up to $5 million via incentives. EJ Gaines also re-joined the Bills in 2019 on a one-year, $2.1 deal and that didn’t workout.
None of those guys are former All-Pros, but by comparison, Norman’s base $6 million salary, plus another $2 million in potential incentives, is higher, more than double in some cases.
In addition, another route, or roll of the dice, the Bills could’ve taken is using one of their nine draft picks to compete with Wallace. Those rookie deals would’ve been cheaper, too. That’s assuming that Johnson is also looking for a bigger payday as a pending free agent as well. We’ll see how that plays out.
More simply put: The Bills didn’t back the Brinks truck up here, but just a few notes on the deal, at least in regard to the contract details we do know as of now, that Norman agreed to.