Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera laughed and broke into a smile Monday when the week's first Josh Norman question was asked.
Rivera will field a couple of dozen more before the Monday Night Football matchup Dec. 19 in Washington.
It's easier for Rivera to smile about the subject of losing his Pro Bowl cornerback now, because two of the corners the Panthers drafted the week they lost Norman _ starters James Bradberry and Daryl Worley _ have begun playing at the level the team envisioned.
That is not to say the Panthers (5-8) are a better team or defense without Norman. That's not the case.
Given the Panthers' returning nucleus from last season's Super Bowl team, the right move for general manager Dave Gettleman was to let Norman play this season under the $13.95 million franchise tag.
Gettleman said in April he rescinded the tag because of the "significant difference" in Norman's contract demands and what the Panthers were willing to pay him. Gettleman, who said at the combine two months earlier he was comfortable letting Norman play under the tag, changed his tune in the weeks that followed and decided a "one-year deal was becoming less and less attractive."
The Panthers had plenty of salary cap space to accommodate Norman's tag _ and still have a ton of cap room (an estimated $18.8 million). The whole point of the franchise tag is to give teams a vehicle to retain top-tier players they can't lock up long-term.
So Gettleman's explanation still baffles a lot of NFL insiders.
Gettleman declined an Observer request for comment, keeping with his policy of not talking to the media during the season.
There is one benefit of letting one of the league's top corners leave without getting anything in return.
If you assume Gettleman was never going to get an extension done with Norman _ and there were no indications to suggest otherwise _ then the Panthers at least were able to start the rebuilding process at cornerback sooner rather than later.
