CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Josh Norman was running his Atlanta coffee shop that sits across the street from the cigar bar owned by former Carolina Panthers teammate Cam Newton when interim coach Steve Wilks called the cornerback into emergency duty on Sunday night.
Norman, 35, chose to spend the 2022 season getting his business -- Omni Coffee & Eggs -- off the ground with the thought of returning to the NFL only if the right situation arose.
That happened on Saturday when Wilks, who developed Norman from a fifth-round pick in 2011 into a first-team All-Pro in 2015, lost starting cornerback Jaycee Horn (broken wrist) for Sunday's game at Tampa Bay with first place in the NFC South on the line.