Sean McDermott: Bills’ Culture Will Bring Josh Norman Back
Josh Norman was terrible in 2019. Washington couldn’t cut him fast enough. Norman eventually signed a one-year contract worth $5 million this offseason. The coaching staff in Buffalo believes Norman still has some juice left. Did Norman just have an effort issue playing on a bad Redskins team? That’s what Sean McDermott seems to think.
The Bills head coach essentially said didn’t play to Norman’s strengths and the culture in Buffalo will bring Josh Norman back from the dead:
“Watching Josh’s film after he got released by the Redskins, there’s been a lot of talk about how he played and maybe his chapter in Washington didn’t unfold the way a lot of people had hoped,” McDermott said in a conference call with the team’s beat writers. “Here’s what I would tell you about Josh. He’s a highly-competitive individual and sometimes the grass isn’t always greener from a system or scheme standpoint, and culture as well. That’s another example of people coming to Buffalo and regaining in this case a better version of one’s self. He experienced great success in Carolina with our culture and system, and hopefully coming to a similar culture and system, he’ll be able to regain his form. I know he’s working hard.”
The Bills actually do have a pretty deep cornerback room. They don’t need Norman to be a hero and cover the best player. They already have Tre’Davious White for that. All Josh Norman has to do is return to a respectable form. Norman hasn’t been a Pro Bowler since 2015.
If Norman doesn’t pan out, Buffalo also has Levi Wallace, EJ Gaines, Dane Jackson, and Taron Johnson. McDermott knows Josh Norman well from their time in Carolina. If there is any coach who can get the best out of him, it’s probably McDermott.
