NBC Sports Washington brought Josh Norman and DeAngelo Hall together after the Washington Redskins beat the Carolina Panthers 23-17, thanks in large part to Norman’s performance.
Norman recorded his first interception since December 2016 and forced a fumble the following Carolina possession — a perfect bounce-back after the Redskins benched Norman in the second half of last Monday’s loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Hall, the former Redskins cornerback who now works on NBC Sports Washington’s coverage of the team, criticized Norman on “The Sports Junkies” during the week by saying his former teammate was “in love with being a celebrity right now and not necessarily being a football player.”
After Norman made his impact on the game felt with his pick and forced fumble, Hall rightly praised him and the whole defense. Asked if they were friends again, he said, “I guess we friends again. We were never not friends.”
Then Norman joined Hall on the set.
“I’m not gonna always agree with you, you’re not gonna agree with me,” Hall told Norman as he awkwardly looked down at the desk. “You think I was wrong, I thought maybe you were wrong. I’m man enough to say, ’Hey bro, you balled out. Keep doing your thing.’ Because you keep doing that and we’re gonna win a lot of football games.”
“Some things that go on on the field, it’s not a statistic thing in what we do,” Norman said. “You should know that. But at the end of the day, all those guys, they rallied behind us and they’re all for us no matter what happens. It’s all 11 guys. It’s not one guy, you know?”
Hall later said he would end the “kumbaya” the two were having by emphasizing nothing he’d ever said in criticism of Norman had malicious intent.
“It has been strictly to see you shine,” he said.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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