The game of poker between Gettleman and Norman's camp

[panther4life]

1 thing we know for sure now is Gettleman did not like the idea of paying a premium for a 1 year rental on Norman. He obviously wanted him back and had to of had some confidence he'd be able reach an agreement on a long term deal, otherwise he never would have tagged him. As time passed it became very apparent no agreement could be made.  Without knowing the terms discussed and what kind of deal Norman will ultimately land here or elsewhere it's hard to say who over played their hand here. 

I don't really see any negatives on the outcome for Norman, other than possibly having to adapt to a new home/ team. However if he was not comfortable with that possibility all he had to do was sign the tender and continue the negotiations.  Granted he'd have to find a new home next year anyway if he didn't think an agreement could be reached by July 15th. 

The possible negative outcome for the Panthers, is simply losing a great player to free agency. Granted that should not count as knock against Gettleman if Norman was just insane in his demands and forced our hand. 

What intrigues me the most is what if Norman had actually signed the tender. In theory this could have increased his negotiating power against us. Allowing him to say hey up your offer or waste 14 million to get me for 1 year your choice, or something to that affect. Granted he would have to be willing to bet on himself again and then test free agency next year and the 1 team who would not be bidding would be us. Hence sealing his fate and no longer making Carolina a place for him to play long term or finish his career with. 

Now the Panthers have the comfort of letting him test free agency, in a softer market since so many big contracts have already been handed out and narrowing the list of potential suitors. 

As of right now it appears Gettleman has made the right choice and was wise to act now before Norman signed the tender. He obviously felt there had to be some threat of that happening soon, otherwise he could have waited until after the draft when the market for Norman could become even softer. Again, it makes sense for Norman to not sign the tender if he wanted to be here long term but under terms he deemed fair. Had he signed the tender and no long term deal could be reached by July 15th then it would guarantee him being an unrestricted free agent next year and having to find a new home, as theres no way wed franchise him and then pay him a big contract the following year. 

Regardless of what happens at this point I think we can all be happy that disaster was averted and we did not throw away 14 million on a 1 year rental, because it appears we were just a signature away from having that happen. All that being said, hopefully no team goes crazy and offers him to be the highest paid corner in the league. Maybe he will realize he is worth more on the open market, just not as much as he thought and may be willing to reconsider lowering his asking price to stay with us. I would certainly like to see him back on a long term deal thats somewhat reasonable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bartin]

7 minutes ago, panther4life said:

Now the Panthers have the comfort of letting him test free agency, in a softer market since so many big contracts have already been handed out and narrowing the list of potential suitors.

Not too sure about this. Most of the money has been doled but there are quite a few teams with more than enough space to bring Josh in on a megadeal and they could see this as a second chance to get a great CB after missing on one earlier in FA. If a couple teams want to make the most of the second chance to get a CB then the bidding could get hot for him.

"We screwed up not getting Smith or Jenkins the first time so let's not eff this one up too."

[panther4life]

3 minutes ago, Bartin said:

Not too sure about this. Most of the money has been doled but there are quite a few teams with more than enough space to bring Josh in on a megadeal and they could see this as a second chance to get a great CB after missing on one earlier in FA. If a couple teams want to make the most of the second chance to get a CB then the bidding could get hot for him.

"We screwed up not getting Smith or Jenkins the first time so let's not eff this one up too."

I could see that, but personally I'd rather have him testing the waters now. I'd have to imagine that if Norman was an unrestricted free agent on day 1, he might have signed with Giants at a bigger deal than Jenkins got or another team that spent big which would have made him their number 1 target.

[Riverboat Ron]

Gettleman seems like the guy who's break your legs over a small debt.

[mc52beast]

I heard that the 9ers were one of the favorites to get Josh, would be crazy to see him and Newton go at it in week two.