5 botched moves John Lynch, 49ers made over course of 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: 49ers stuck it out with Josh Norman far too long
Perhaps this mistake isn’t entirely on John Lynch, as veteran cornerback Josh Norman wasn’t intended to be a regularly counted-upon starter when he signed just before the start of the regular season in early September.
Yet the injuries and shortcoming at cornerback (more on those in a second), prompted the Niners to rely heavily on Norman for much of the year.
Sure, Norman had a tendency of forcing fumbles, and the lack of healthy options at the position highlighted the seven fumbles forced over his 15 games played, 14 of which were starts. However, those were wholly offset by the liability he turned out to be in coverage and the fact he led San Francisco’s defense with eight penalties against.
In coverage, Norman surrendered a passer rating of 110.6 with four touchdowns allowed, and one might make the argument he was the sole reason behind the 49ers’ losses in Weeks 7 and 16 against the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans, respectively.
When Norman was benched in Week 9 in the loss against the Arizona Cardinals, he should have stayed there. The Niners defense would have been better off with its other options within the secondary.