The 49ers haven’t made a big splash in free agency this offseason – but the offseason isn’t over yet.
The Niners, who only have added one potential free-agent starter in guard Zane Beadles, may now be in the running for one of the NFL’s top players from 2015.
All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman, who helped the Carolina Panthers reach the Super Bowl, now has narrowed his list of potential landing spots to Washington and San Francisco, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Rapoport reported that about 10 teams had contacted Norman’s representatives this week after Carolina decided to rescind its franchise tag on the cornerback, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Norman reportedly has a visit scheduled with Washington Friday. Rapoport reports that a source says Norman would like to have a deal in place with a new team before the draft begins on Thursday, April 28.
Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com notes that the 49ers make sense as a landing spot for Norman because they have more than $50 million in salary-cap space available, so they are one of the few teams that could comfortably land Norman to a deal to his liking – supposedly as much as $16 million per year, Rosenthal says. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that both Washington and San Francisco have discussed five-year deals with Norman’s representatives.
And, the Niners certainly could use an elite cornerback in a secondary that often was torched in 2015. Norman certainly played at an elite level in 2015, allowing a quarterback rating of just 54.0 on passes thrown against him, the best mark of any corner in the NFL, according to the analytics site Pro Football Focus. PFF also noted that Norman didn’t allow a completed pass longer than 36 yards for the entire season and had 10 games when he allowed two or fewer completions.
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As Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus wrote this week, the 49ers’ signing of Norman – pairing him with Tramaine Brock – would create a “massively upgraded” pass defense for the 49ers.
Yet a 49ers-Norman marriage somehow seems farfetched. Yes, the 49ers have the money, but general manager Trent Baalke has been reluctant to spend wildly in free agency. Plus, Norman would be leaving a Super Bowl team to join a rebuilding franchise with a new head coach coming off a 5-11 season. Also, Norman is an East Coaster. Playing in Washington makes more sense for a guy who was raised in South Carolina, played for Coastal Carolina and who has played only for the Panthers.
The Niners may be a finalist, but it’s hard at this point to envision them signing Norman.
