Beckham, McAdoo downplay Norman's return

Norman may be wearing new colors, but that might just only add to the animosity between the rivals, as Norman is now a member of the Giants NFC East rival, the Redskins.

- Geoff Magliocchetti

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — Brace yourselves … the Pandora’s Box that is the Odell Beckham Jr./Josh Norman situation is about to be opened up all over again with Norman and his new friends in Washington coming to town this weekend.

The defending division champions, Washington signed Norman late in the offseason, inking him to a 5-year, $75 million deal to make him the highest paid cornerback in NFL history.

Little more needs to be written about Norman’s December confrontation with Beckham, when the former was a member of the then-undefeated Carolina Panthers, the eventual representatives of the NFC in Super Bowl 50. The two had several verbal and physical confrontations before and during the game, a 38-35 Carolina win. In the aftermath of five personal foul penalties called between them, Beckham was given a one-game suspension, while Norman was only fined.

Along with the events of the AFC Wild Card tilt between the Bengals and Steelers, the confrontation has been named as a catalyst for the NFL’s new unsportsmanlike conduct penalty rules, which eject players from the game after two such offenses.

Predictably, with the winless Redskins coming to town to face the undefeated Giants, the hype for Norman’s visit began immediately after the Giants win over New Orleans, with Beckham asked twice about the rematch.

“Whenever we get there, we get there,” he simply replied after the first prompt.

Asked again about Norman, Beckham chose instead to focus on the fact his team would be facing off against a division rival.

“Yes, we play the Redskins,” he said. “(I’m) looking forward to it. 2-0 going into the division, playing the Redskins.