Bills Activate Josh Norman From IR

SATURDAY: Norman is in line to make his Bills debut Sunday in Las Vegas. The Bills will activate their free agent corner acquisition ahead of their Week 4 game against the Raiders.

WEDNESDAY: The Bills have designated cornerback Josh Norman for return, according to the league’s transaction wire. Buffalo now has a three-week window to activate the veteran DB.

Once considered one of the best corners in the league, Norman was all over the PFR pages back in 2016, when he and the Panthers were going through a messy divorce. On the heels of a platform campaign that saw him bring home First Team All-Pro honors, Norman was hit with the franchise tag, but Carolina rescinded the tag shortly thereafter. When that happened, Norman signed a five-year, $75MM contract with Washington, which made him the highest-paid CB in NFL history at the time.

But he was not quite the same player with Washington that he was with the Panthers, and in 2019, he graded out as the third-worst qualified cornerback in the league per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. However, he managed to finagle a one-year, $6MM pact out of the Bills this offseason, and both Buffalo and Norman were hoping that a reunion with Bills HC Sean McDermott — who was Carolina’s defensive coordinator throughout Norman’s entire tenure with the club — would help Norman look more like his old self.

Norman, however, landed on IR earlier this month with a hamstring injury. He appears to be on the mend and is nearing his debut with the current leaders of the AFC East.

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