Players often change agents, but not many do so less than 24 hours after a team rescinds a franchise tag worth $14 million and tells them to hit the bricks.
Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman has been fairly quiet since the team surprisingly took back the franchise tag and made Norman, an All-Pro last season, an unrestricted free agent. But by the simple action of changing agents, Norman seemed to be saying he wasn't entirely pleased with how everything went down.
Norman has switched from Michael George of SFX to Ryan Williams of Athletes First, a move first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. George will still be on Norman's representation team, but Williams will negotiate Norman's next contract. One reason George was kept on, as the Miami Herald explained, is that there's usually a five-day waiting period mandated by the NFLPA when there's an agent change; keeping George on in a diminished role eliminates that waiting period. And with a lot of teams in pursuit, Norman probably wants to sign sooner rather than later.
One of those franchises is the Washington Redskins, the NFL Network reported:
 | @RapSheet | |
Source: Free agent CB Josh Norman has a visit to the #Redskins tomorrow. They get first crack
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The agent change adds another layer of confusion over why the situation got to this point between the Panthers and Norman.
There are many reasons the move to rescind the franchise tag didn't make sense for the Panthers (I listed the top five here). At a news conference Thursday, Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman repeatedly said that since it was clear that the team and player couldn't come to a long-term deal, a one-year deal for Norman didn't make sense. Aside from the holes in that logic, it's worth wondering if Norman was aware of Gettleman's feelings before the Panthers dumped him.
Norman obviously wasn't happy with how it all went down, if he was changing agents less than 24 hours later. Would it have been easier for Norman and the Panthers to reach an agreement under Norman's new management? Think back to last year and the acrimony between Dez Bryant and the Dallas Cowboys that all melted away the moment Bryant signed a long-term deal. Whatever is said in April generally has little to do with what ultimately happens in July.
But what's done is done, even though Gettleman said he wouldn't rule out Norman returning to the Panthers. If he can pull that off, it would be an upset to trump all upsets. Now with many teams in pursuit of one of the NFL's best cornerbacks, Norman will cash in. A new agent will help him get the contract he wants.
But yet again, it doesn't make a lot of sense why that couldn't happen in Carolina.
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