The Washington Commanders had a plan to address their offensive line. On Wednesday Washington released last year’s starting left guard Ereck Flowers in a shocking move. However, they inked Flowers’ replacement the next day in former All-Pro and Jacksonville Jaguar Andrew Norwell.
Norwell gets a chance to reunite with his former head coach with the Carolina Panthers, Ron Rivera and his former offensive line coach John Matsko.
Washington’s move was both strategic and financially sound in the grand scheme of things, as details of Norwell’s deal have been revealed.
The Commanders signed Norwell to a two-year, $10 million deal with $4.7 million guaranteed, according to Ben Standig of The Athletic.
This year, Washington will pay Norwell half the $10 million it owed Flowers for the 2022 season.
Andrew Norwell was once viewed as one of the best guards in the league. He earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2017 with the Panthers, Rivera and Matsko. He left the Panthers for the Jaguars the next offseason to be the highest-paid guard in the NFL, earning an average of $12 million over the past four years.
Now, he didn’t quite match his All-Pro level but he was formidable and did well with the Jaguars. But, he’ll be in position to benefit for going back to the scheme that made him in Carolina.
Ereck Flowers played well in his lone season under Matsko and Rivera. However, Washington felt they’d get similar production with Norwell for half the price. In fact, despite being three years older, Norwell may have a higher ceiling with the Commanders due to his familiarity with the scheme.
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