Officially, cornerback Josh Norman is questionable for Week 12's tilt with the Detroit Lions. However, he's not going to play in Sunday's game. Not due to injury; the Washington Redskins' well-paid defender simply isn't playing up to his contract.
According to Erin Hawksworth of 106.7 The Fan, Norman will be a healthy scratch against the Lions. He was benched last week in a loss to the New York Jets due to performance.
Josh Norman will be inactive today even though he is healthy, according to a source. Not a huge surprise since he was benched last week.
— Erin Hawksworth (@ErinHawksworth) November 24, 2019
Earlier in the week, Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Manusky gave interesting comments in response to why Norman isn't making plays in 2019. Via John Keim of ESPN:
“We put him in situations to make plays and we’re just not making them.”
Before the trade deadline, reports surfaced that Washington would like to trade Norman. Nobody bit, likely in large part due to a stark regression from the 31-year-old coupled with a massive contract.
In nine games of 2019 play, Norman has 40 combined tackles, six pass deflections, and an interception. According to Pro Football Reference, he is allowing a 127 passer rating in coverage to go alongside 422 yards and six touchdowns on a 67.4% completion rate. He is a liability in coverage.
Norman carries the highest cap hit for any player for the Redskins at $14.3 million, per Over The Cap. If they decide to part ways with him in the offseason, they would save $12.5 million while taking a $3 million dead cap hit.
Remaining on Washington's corner depth chart is Quinton Dunbar, Aaron Colvin, Fabian Moreau, Jimmy Moreland and Simeon Thomas.
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