Norwell is focus of offensive line upgrade
During the recently concluded NFL Scouting Combine, hundreds of college players were put through a gauntlet of physical testing, mental aptitude and personality profiling, all dissected, studied and analyzed. It is worth noting four years ago, when Andrew Norwell endured this scrutiny, the conclusion was he did not quite measure up.
His experience as a threeyear starter at Ohio State was exemplary, as was his on-field attitude, described by one scout as “plays an old-schoolbackyard-brawler brand of football.’’ There was enough to like about Norwell to make him an NFL prospect, but only marginally so.
The 2014 NFL Draft came and went and Norwell never heard his name. He signed with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent, getting a standard three-year, $1.54 million contract contingent on him making the team, far from a sure thing. His signing bonus was $12,000.
Well, four years later, hav- ing made a mockery of the entire player-evaluation process teams invest so much time and effort in, Norwell is on the precipice of hitting it big — really, really big. He is the best offensive lineman set to hit the open market in free agency and Monday, teams can open up negotiations with his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. The Giants will put in a call and are considered the favorite to begin their offensive line rebuild by adding Norwell to anchor the line at left guard.
The high-water mark for an NFL guard is $12 million per year — the deal Kevin Zeitler signed last year (five years, $60 million, with $31.5 million guaranteed) with the Browns. Norwell will surpass that per-year average, a staggering ascension, considering his humble NFL beginnings. Is he worth it? Norwell has the size (6foot-6, 325 pounds), the temperament (nasty), the look (long, flowing hair), the durability (he hasn’t missed a game in two years) and the youth (26) to warrant a long-term commit- ment. The money is what it is, too high for a guard but the going rate, considering he was an All-Pro player in 2017 and, according to Pro Football Focus, the only offensive lineman in the league that did not allow a sack or a pressure.
Plus, he is a known commodity to the Giants, at least to Dave Gettleman, their new general manager, who signed Norwell when Gettleman ran the show for the Panthers. This past season, Norwell played for $2.74 million. The Panthers did not have the salary-cap room to put the franchise tag on Norwell — it would have cost $14.3 million on the 2018 cap — and they already invested heavily in right guard Trai Turner (four-year, $45 million extension) and left tackle Matt Kalil (five years, $55 million).
There will be less-expensive options in free agency — Ryan Jensen (Ravens), Chris Hubbard (Steelers), Senio Kelemete (Saints) — but the Giants need a stud they can build around, and that someone appears to be Norwell.