Sam Darnold Praised by Josh Norman

Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman has praised the maturity of New York Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold.

Josh Norman was asked his opinion on Sam Darnold after a practice game between the Washington Redskins and the Jets.

“Someone asked me about him the other day and I was like, yeah, whatever, he’s just a guy,” Norman said.

“Then you go out here and see him making these throws and you’re like, all right. That’s not so much a college-level throw. He’s putting them on the money.”

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“It’s like, dang. You get rookies in here and you try to mess them with a little bit and bait them a little bit into thinking they’re throwing a route and you can make a play and he’s not having it. It’s so crazy to see that at an early age. Dak [Prescott] has that; Carson [Wentz] has that. So it’s like, man, they must come in here not wanting to screw it up and he’s so far impressed me and I didn’t want him to. I wanted to break all rookies. He’s been doing a great job.”

Sam Darnold caught the eye in the New York Jets preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons. Before that game, he would have been third in the Jets quarterback pecking order.

In that game, he completed 13  of 18 passes for 96 yards and one touchdown. He showed mobility and accuracy, as well as awareness beyond a first year quarterback.

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That maturity surprised Norman when he played against him in practice.

“I gave him some cheese,” Norman said. “He held it and he was going to throw it and he pulled it back and I jumped back real fast and I was like, you little devil. OK, I see you working really good right now. I couldn’t bait him like I wanted to and he saw it and he read it out and he read it out like a vet. You tip your hat to a guy like that, learning at an early age when guys are messing with him and when they’re not. It’s pretty awesome.”