A party was brimming at Redskins Park and there was hardly time for Eric Schaffer to revel in it, even though he was the driving force behind the excitement that was pulsating through the team’s building past 8 p.m. on a Friday night in late April.
Schaffer had just spent the last several hours in his office negotiating with agent Ryan Williams, fending off charging teams and hammering away at the framework of the five-year, $75 million contract that would ultimately lead Josh Norman to the Washington Redskins.
Some 48 hours earlier, the Carolina Panthers made the stunning decision to rescind Norman’s franchise tag, and general manager Scot McCloughan wanted to take his shot at acquiring the All-Pro cornerback.