Josh Norman To Shadow Odell Beckham Jr. In Highly Anticipated NFL Matchup

The Washington Redskins will have cornerback Josh Norman shadowing New York Giants’ wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. when the two NFC East rivals meet on Sunday. ESPN‘s Britt McHenry reported on Wednesday, citing a source with the Redskins, that the team has decided to have Norman cover Beckham during Sunday’s Week 3 game between Washington and New York. The news will no doubt be music to the ears of NFL fans, as Norman vs. Beckham has one of the most fierce one-on-one rivalries in the league.

The Washington coaching staff was somewhat concerned about how the decision would affect the team’s other starting cornerback, Bashaud Breeland, who was tasked with defending the opposing team’s top wide receiver the first two weeks of the season. However, the Redskins ultimately decided to let Norman, who signed a 5-year, $75 million contract with the team before the season, to match up against Beckham, who’s regarded by most to be among the best wide receivers in the NFL.

According to McHenry’s source, the lone caveat to the Norman vs. Beckham matchup is that Norman will not follow Beckham into the slot. If the Giants plan on using a multitude of formations and moving Beckham around the field, he may not always be paired up with Norman. Nevertheless, fans should expect to see Norman vs. Beckham quite often on Sunday.

Lorenzo Reyes of USAToday did a great job of breaking down the history between Norman and Beckham, explaining why there is such bad blood between the two heading into Sunday. The two have not been engaged in a feud for all that long, but the antics between the two has been incredibly fierce.

Things started last December when Norman was with the Carolina Panthers. In a Week 15 matchup between the Panthers and Giants, Norman was matched up against Beckham, and the two became embroiled in a personal matchup against the other that at times superseded the game between the two teams. Norman and Beckham were shoving, clawing, and punching one another all game.

Along the way, Norman received two personal foul penalties, while Beckham received three, including one for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Norman that provoked a scuffle between the two sides. Video of that hit can be seen below.

Beckham finished that game with six catches for 76 yards and one touchdown. However, he also dropped a pass on what would have surely been a touchdown, and at times appeared mentally rattled by Norman, who did a great job of containing Beckham. Afterward, Norman was not shy about pointing out Beckham’s inexcusable behavior that many thought warranted an ejection from the game.

“I hope I pulled back the mask on who this guy really is,” Norman said of Beckham. “He’s got the maturity of a little kid.”

The Norman vs. Beckham feud did not calm down during the offseason. In March, Norman appeared on ESPN, and when showed a picture of Beckham, responded by merely saying “Okay.” Beckham must have been watching, as he soon sent out the following tweet that was subtly directed at Norman:

That boy should thank me for all I've done for you !!! Your welcome tho … Lol

— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) March 25, 2016

Norman, perhaps upset at Beckham’s passive-aggressive tweet, had a more direct response to the New York wide out.

@Obj_3 As your boy @Drake would say "trigger finger turn to Twitter finger's" huh?
I'm not Guna sub Tweet you Ima @ You.
So wassup?

— *Joshua R. Norman (@J_No24) March 25, 2016

The two continued to exchange words through the media all summer, especially when Norman made the move to Washington, meaning he was on a team that would play Beckham and the Giants twice per season. Things then started to heat up again earlier this month when Norman spoke about Beckham at length with the Charlotte Observer.

“Now don’t get me wrong, he’s a good player or whatever, but he’s not what he thinks he is. If you hit guys like that, if you completely jam them and shake them up, they can’t relate to that. So they start making excuses like, ‘Oh, he touched me.’ They don’t know how to respond because they never got hit like that. So me, every time I see him, I’m going to hit him in the mouth. I don’t care. Until he stops crying.”

Those appear to be fighting words, and perhaps even a guarantee that Norman will shut down Beckham on the field the next time the two see each other.

Lucky for NFL fans, the two are set to see each other again this weekend. On top of that, following Norman’s move to Washington, he and Beckham are now on teams that have long been division rivals and figure to be competing for the NFC East division crown this season. Not that it needed it, but this should add even more fuel to the Norman-Beckham fire.

Both players are no doubt looking forward to proving themselves against the other on the field after an offseason of chatter. Now that Washington has announced that Norman will indeed be tasked with defending Beckham on Sunday, we can all look forward to seeing the two renew their heated rivalry in what should be an entertaining and potentially explosive matchup.

[Featured Image by Michael Reaves/Getty Images]