Should the Chicago Bears Pay Josh Norman’s Demands?

In an announcement that was nothing short of shocking, the Carolina Panthers released a statement on Wednesday that they rescinded the franchise tag on Josh Norman allowing the All-Pro cornerback to become a free agent. The Panthers franchised Norman earlier in the offseason and had every intention to keep him on Ron Rivera’s defense, but after several weeks of negotiations, the Panthers changed their minds.

Norman’s demands are high- very high. But he has proven to be an elite corner that can instantly improve any secondary. It’s no secret that the Chicago Bears’ defensive backfield needs improving. Signing Josh Norman as your top CB and having Tracy Porter line up alongside him vastly improves you on the outside. Kyle Fuller can then be held for nickel packages or perhaps even tried at safety to see if they can improve the play of the young, inconsistent defensive back. With the free agent acquisitions the team has already made and what could be an impact rookie drafted in the first or second round, the Bears defense could become elite with the signing of Norman. But does it make sense for a franchise that is working on rebuilding the team and developing players through the draft? It’s an interesting question.

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First, would the Bears have a shot at signing Norman? That answer is a resounding “yes.” At this point in the offseason, Norman’s potential suitors are limited. Most teams are near the cap so for one of them to make a move for him, they would have to restructure their roster and release one or more players. If those teams don’t do that, that eliminates roughly 12 teams right there. But also keep in mind teams still need to sign their rookies to contracts. Now there are ways to circumvent some of the salaries of lower round picks, and with the rookie wage scale, none of them are that pricey at this point, but teams still need at least $5 million available, and in some cases, closer to $10 million in available cap space to sign their rookies. That means if you eliminate teams that would release a veteran, Norman’s pool is only teams that have roughly $20 million in available cap space.

What teams does that include? There are seven- the Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, and New York Giants. The Indianapolis Colts are close at $18.5 million, so let’s throw them into the argument as well. First, eliminate the Panthers, that’s obvious. There would be little interest of the 3-13 Titans to sign Norman, who turns 29 this year, to massive dollars when they are in the middle of a serious rebuild. The Browns are nothing short of a mess, I would highly doubt Norman would even consider signing in Cleveland at this point. The Colts know they have to pay Andrew Luck massive dollars next season, so they are not going to tie up any money with Norman beyond 2016 which means you can eliminate them. That leaves four possible destinations and the Bears are one of them.

The Giants threw around stupid money in the offseason to improve their defense, so they might consider throwing more money at Norman being they still have over $22 million in cap space, but after signing Janoris Jenkins to a $62 million deal, it’s hard to imagine they would throw even more money at Norman. The pool has shrunk to three. Let’s put the 49ers and Jaguars aside for a minute and discuss the Bears.

The Bears have enough money to make the Norman signing happen ($23 million), but would GM Ryan Pace make a move like this? Norman is looking for $16 million per season and probably nothing less than 4 years. Being that the aforementioned Jenkins received $29 million guaranteed in his deal, you have to figure Norman is good for $35-$40 million. That type of money is probably too much for the Bears to bite at this point coming off a 6-10 season. Yes, the team has improved and with a manageable schedule they could jump to 9-7, perhaps even 10-6. Add Norman into the mix and that number could go as high as 11-5. The Bears have a contract extension they will want to give Kyle Long next offseason before risking him to free agency in 2018, so signing Norman and re-signing Long is going to put the Bears right at or over the cap by 2017. That’s not the type of flexibility that Ryan Pace is looking for. Now, based on the negotiations that the Bears have managed and the sales job that Pace and John Fox have done with free agents, perhaps they can talk Norman down to a more reasonable deal in the $11-$12 million per season with $25-30 million guaranteed. If they can manage to do that, they should absolutely sign Norman. He would be a steal at that price. But how reasonable is that?

Cat Crave

Norman already had a great situation in Carolina and didn’t care about coming down to the Panthers financial requests, he wanted the biggest payday he could muster. So why would he sign a contract for Carolina-type money in Chicago? The Bears are building towards something special, but the Panthers are already there with Cam Newton at QB, not to mention they are coming off an NFC Championship. It really doesn’t seem reasonable to think that Norman would come to the Bears on a slight discount when he simply wants to get every nickel. If no team was willing to give Norman the money he wants, that’s where the Bears would become serious players. But that’s where the Jaguars and 49ers come into play.

Both of those franchises have more than $50 million under the salary cap. They could easily throw as much money at Norman as he wants and they wouldn’t blink an eye. The Niners, with Chip Kelly, see themselves as steps away from returning to the playoffs (delusional or not), and wouldn’t hesitate to make a splash like this. The Jaguars are rebuilding, but with plenty of cap space and throwing around ludicrous contracts like the six-year, $90 million deal they gave Malik Jackson, they could throw the same money at Norman. Plus, with no state income tax in Florida, the Jaguars’ dollar goes longer in the contract negotiations than the 49ers would.

Regardless of which team (perhaps both) offers up a major deal to Norman, it’s almost a certainty that one of them will. If Norman’s asking price is going to remain at that type of price, Ryan Pace and the Bears should gracefully bow out.

Bill Zimmerman is an editor and featured writer for FanSided‘s BearGogglesOn. Like his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter for more news and interaction.