Norman rips Bryant, Beckham; promises 'bad blood' between NFC East rivals
Warning: Story contains coarse language
Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman reignited the volcanic rivalries between two of his biggest division rivals during an interview with Bleacher Report's Tyler Dunne.
Norman was engaged in high-profile feuds with Dallas Cowboys standout Dez Bryant and New York Giants superstar Odell Beckham Jr. over the past two seasons and took every opportunity to put them on blast Thursday.
"That's a guy. Just a guy. Dez was Dez in 2012, '13, '14. Maybe '14. Now? He's a guy," Norman said of Bryant.
"He's trying to be a tough guy and that's not him," Norman added. "That's not how you play ball. The media really created this "talk trash" with me. I don't really talk to these guys. They're talking to themselves. I just play them. And then they get a little snippet of me having a conversation with them and blast it on ESPN. So now when I go up against people, the coaches tell them: "Don't talk to Josh! He'll get in your head!" My coaches think I have this magic wand and just automatically make these people do something crazy."
Norman and Bryant engaged in several contentious verbal battles during a November 2016 game in which the Cowboys ended up victorious. After the game, Norman alleged that Bryant told him "where I'm from, we unload the clip," inferring gun violence against him.
Bryant retorted, saying that the Redskins ought to get a refund on the five-year, $75-million contract they offered Norman prior to the 2016 season.
Norman also took shots at Beckham Jr., arguing that the 24-year-old pretends to be tougher than he actually is when confronted by the opposition.
"He tries to be a tough guy. He tries to put on this persona which he's not. Because he's always going to have his head on a swivel. Always. Always when we play each other. He's scary like that. He does things that he normally wouldn't do because of all the pressure and added hype that he has to put on his whole persona. He's not this guy. If you go back and watch the games in which we play compared to the games we don't play each other, he's a totally different guy."
Norman ended the interview by vowing war on the rest of the division, implying that there could be a lot of sanctions coming from all parties involved.
"Trust me when I tell you, it's going to be bad blood this year. You think the NFC East didn't like each other before? This year right here? There's going to be a lot of fines and maybe some suspensions. I'm going to be honest with you: This shit is going to get really ugly. Because I do have a safety that don't give a fuck and I definitely don't. And I know they don't have that many people on the offense who do on their side."
Get your popcorn ready.