49ers free agency: 5 players Niners won’t bring back in 2022
By Peter Panacy
49ers free agent No. 3: Cornerback Josh Norman
The 49ers exceeded expectations in 2021, making it all the way to the NFC Championship game. But there’ll nevertheless be plenty of blame for why the Niners didn’t perform better, and the issues at cornerback are going to be fully explored heading into 2022.
As such, one of the likely scapegoats for San Francisco’s woes in the secondary will be veteran cornerback Josh Norman, who fairly or not, will receive a lot of blame for underperformance over the course of the year.
Norman was an emergency free-agent signing early in 2021, only forced into the fray as a starter because of injuries.
No longer one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks, Norman’s team-high seven defensive penalties on the season highlighted the risk factor the 49ers took in placing him on the field, and the fact opposing quarterbacks were posting a 110.6 passer rating with four touchdowns thrown when targeting him ultimately influenced the team’s decision to bench him.
The Niners’ situation at cornerback remains unresolved, but it’s safe to assume whatever their solutions are during the offseason won’t end up including Norman.