Josh Norman and Odell Beckham Jr. won't face each other until Week 3 of the regular season when the Washington Redskins travel to MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Giants, but that's not keeping the excitment of their renewed rivalry down.
Norman and Beckham were locked in a very heated battle last season in their Week 15 meeting in East Rutherford, N.J., as Norman and the Carolina Panthers were able to escape with a 38-35 victory, but not before the two engaged in quite a few spirited moments. The two combined for four unnecessary roughness penalties in the game – three for Beckham Jr. and one for Norman. Beckham ended up with a one-game suspension because of the multiple melees between him and Norman.
Beckham Jr. got the verbal sparring started in a recent interview with GQ *Magazine*, saying the reason why Norman signed with the Redskins was primarily because of last December's game, calling it "a smart business move."
"It goes back to what I was saying," Beckham said. "If I wasn't playing him [Norman] twice a year, maybe people wouldn't bring it up as much. But now it'll be a lot more media attention for him, attention that I don't really look for, attention that I don't need. The reason he's become so relevant is because of me."
Norman had his chance to respond to Beckham's comments on Friday, in an appearance on "NFL HQ."
The Coastal Carolina product sounded determined to move past what happened between him and Beckham Jr., and stay focused on what's soon to come at training camp.
"I really don't got none [comments], to be honest with you," Norman said. "I am all out of thoughts; I really don't too much care about it. I said what I had to say pretty much yesterday when I was asked about it at a celebrity basketball game, so I think that's pretty much where I stand on everything."
When asked if Beckham's comments angered him in any way, Norman said he's too concerned with what's being said.
"The guy said what he said, it is what it is, it really is," Norman said. "I don't take no use for it. 'Shots fired?' and, 'Am I going to throw back?' For what? I don't have to, there's nothing I am going to shoot at. I see a target, I'm going to see it in the game, not outside the game. I going to do what I do, playing a physical style of football and we'll see."
Norman's not quite sure if the Week 3 matchup with Beckham Jr. will be similar to the one they had last December.
"I do know it is going to be a fun, exciting football game for the fans to watch," Norman said. "So I know they're going to get their money's worth. We're out there to get a 'W' man, that's the biggest thing, I mean if you look at these two teams, we're both in the NFC East, and we're both fighting to go the playoffs so obviously their team is in our division and we've got to come out fighting and come out strong. Our tempo will justify itself in that game. We'll see what happens, I mean I know how we play ball and that's what we're going to take into this game."
