Norman tried to sign Panthers’ tag at last minute

10:41 AM ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Pro Bowl cornerback Josh Norman wanted to stay with the Carolina Panthers so badly that he made a last-minute attempt to either sign his franchise tag after it was rescinded or work out a one-year deal for market value.

Editor’s PicksSigning Josh Norman wonât prevent a long-term deal with Kirk Cousins, others

Josh Norman’s signing Friday won’t prevent them from affording to sign Kirk Cousins or their own free agents next offseason.

But Norman said Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman told him it was too late and blamed Norman’s former agent, Michael George, for the split.

“My agent called them up and said if they wanted to do something, like a one-year, market-value [deal],” Norman told ESPN.com on Monday. “We wanted to come back. They said they weren’t willing to, so we had to do what we had to do.

“My hands were tied in the whole thing.”

The Panthers rescinded the tag on Wednesday, making Norman an unrestricted free agent. On Friday, Norman signed a five-year, $75 million deal with the Washington Redskins.

Norman didn’t sign the tag, which would have guaranteed him $13.952 million in 2016, when it was placed on him March 1 because George said it was not in his best interest in terms of leverage.

George and Norman were seeking a long-term deal for what they considered market value, between $15 million and $16 million per year. Gettleman offered a four-year deal worth $11 million annually at the NFL combine and never backed off that, according to a league source.

Norman said he wasn’t aware the two sides were so far apart.

“Then again, it goes to show how much they value me,” he said. “I kind of got a little read into it when they talked about who their core guys were and I wasn’t mentioned in that core.

“So, shoot, man, it started all setting in my mind …

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