Why Panthers GM's tough talk after letting Josh Norman walk isn't such a smart move
Agents aren't likely soon to forget Dave Gettleman's remarks when it comes to negotiations
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5 min read
The decision by the Panthers to rescind Josh Norman's franchise tag and let him walk out the door into the free-agent market will never make sense to me. I'll forever contemplate that there must have been something else to it, that in essence ownership simply grew perturbed enough by the star corner's stance that it reached an irrational conclusion.
If there was one glaring instance this offseason where a team seemed to have a warped sense of the market for a player, it was this. Teams lined up to pay Norman far more than the Panthers had been offering and the recently frugal Redskins eventually landed him with a monster pay day.
I've been generally bullish on this franchise and how it operates, and have lauded general manager Dave Gettleman for many of his actions -- including his approach to the just-completed draft. But some of Gettleman's comments last week about market value and agents have come off as overly tough talk to some in the agent community. Judging by the tone of Gettleman's comments, he won't care much about the reaction anyway, but this struck me as a bit of an odd time for the Panthers to be sort of puffing their negotiating chest.
In the end it's players -- and cultivating talent -- that make this whole thing go. On the heels of letting Norman walk despite being in Super Bowl mode, and under the backdrop of what has the potential to be another dicey situation with defensive tackle Kawann Short, Gettleman's actions have spoken far louder than his words. But Gettleman's recent comments to Black and Blue Review might not ultimately help his cause, with Short or otherwise.
"I'd like to think agents have figured out they can't scare me," Gettleman told the publication. "They can't squeeze me. I'm not going to panic. I'm not going to give money away. It's a waste of time."
More than one player rep has mentioned that quote to me as off-putting -- especially given the way Norman's franchise-tag boondoggle played out. It certainly has not gone unnoticed, especially as the Panthers spoke often about re-investing their savings by letting Norman walk but to this point have yet to really spend it.
Generally, GMs do best by keeping a decidedly low profile and saying less while they do more, letting coaches take bullets in the media. Remarks like this have made some waves in the locker room, sources said, and has gotten players talking at a time when many were already a bit baffled by how Norman's contract situation played out.
Gettleman has plenty to crow about and the Panthers have prospered under his hand and from the significant A-list talent he inherited from former general manager Marty Hurney. But timing is everything, and Short's nebulous future is already potentially contentious, with the Panthers a bit more under the microscope now.
Chasing around other people's players in free agency is folly, as I've long documented, but butting heads with elite homegrown talent can create significant issues in a locker room. Things can turn quickly in this league. Players talk and agents talk (and several Panthers players have texted and talked to their agents about what probably seemed like a somewhat innocuous interview). It might not matter much in the end if you keep winning, but it can make the terrain a little more bumpy than it needs to be along the way.
I applaud Gettleman when he says: "You can't shop like a drunken sailor, and we're not going to." But letting someone like Norman hit the market a year before the Panthers wouldn't be able to afford him on the tag strikes some as equally bizarre. I couldn't help but think of Gettleman's former team, the Giants, as I read these remarks. It used to be plenty of bluster with them as well, until desperate times had them running around setting the market all over the place this offseason, hoping and praying they could solve their many woes through over-spending on other people's players. It can happen fast.
Gettleman has no such problems at this point, with the Panthers favored to win the NFC South yet again. His keen scouting eye and Carolina's fiscal prudence in many cases have served the franchise quite well. But these sort of comments come off as goading and needling, especially in the aftermath of the Norman saga, and while everything Gettleman talked about in the interview very well may be true, at least some of it was probably better left unsaid.
More news and notes from around the NFL:
New Orleans Saints
There are a lot of people breathing a sigh of relief around the NFL offices on Park Avenue now that Saints owner Tom Benson's protracted fight with his children has reached a resolution that did not require a trial. There has been much airing of dirty laundry between the two sides and finding a way to have this wrapped up behind closed doors and in a private manner is being viewed as a big win for the NFL.
Of course, any settlement is pending the approval of the other 24 owners, and as much as this settlement decision is supposed to remain under wraps, the details will inevitably get out, especially as the other owners must bring it to a vote. For now, the fact that the legal side of the process appears closed is a cause for smiles. One would think that Benson's settlement would be two-thirds approval from his peers at the next league meeting. I can also tell you that whether the Saints end up with Benson's wife, Gayle Benson, or his heirs, it's going to be a source of concern from some owners who have reservations about the ability of either party to steward the franchise long-term.
New York Jets
We are about to enter the true dog days of the NFL offseason, when literally nothing is happening with coaches and general managers on vacation, but keep an eye on the Jets. The potential remains for another undercurrent or two.
It seems virtually certain that even if they do ultimately re-sign Ryan Fitzpatrick it will be under some duress, and having him disgruntled at a time when Muhammad Wilkerson, the best player on their team, is basically openly hostile about the lack of any real negotiations on a long-term deal for him, is an ominous backdrop to bring into camp next month. As it stands, I cannot foresee a resolution that would actually truly placate either player. Both will likely enter the season feeling like lame ducks with an uncertain future in New York, and the Jets will need to continue to try to cultivate long-term replacements for both on the fly.
Winning cures everything they say, and the Jets were one of the NFL's pleasant surprises in 2015. I've long championed this regime as one that just could end up pulling the Jets out of years of floundering. But these kind of franchise resurrections take years and they don't often happen on a straight upward path. I expect to hear more grumbling and rumbling from some of this team's top players between now and when camps open.
